Talk About Skinny…
Imagine living in a home where, when you spread your arms, you can almost touch both outside walls.
Back in the 1830s, a bricklayer named Hollensbury bought a narrow lot that had been an alley between his rowhouse and his neighbor’s.
The folklore suggests that he built a new two-story rowhouse for his two daughters, partly to stop his neighbor from driving an oversized carriage through the alley and scraping his walls. The home was nicknamed by neighbors, the “spitehouse”.
But the narrowness of the lot allowed for a home that was only 7 feet wide. Just seven feet. To save space, the interior walls on either side are the exterior brick walls of the homes on either side. So the home really only required front and back walls when built.
The completed house has only 350 sq. feet of living space, which made it at one point in time, the narrowest home in America as designated by Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
Located at 523 Queen Street in Alexandria, this blue rowhouse is now a place of curiosity.
Just 2½ blocks away is another historic home, the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee, at 607 Oronoco Street.
He lived there from the age of around 4 until he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Before the Lee family owned the home, George Washington dined there and French Major-General Lafayette, an important revolutionary war leader and friend of Washington, also visited the home.
Both home are private residences and tours are not offered.
_________________________________________________
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Just a Bit Weird - Fun & Quirky Places, Sound Like a Local
4 opinions for Talk About Skinny…
Heather-The New York City Traveler
Feb 1, 2008 at 11:16 pm
And I thought my first NY apartment was small!
It would be so interesting to see how the owners decorate and furnished their 350 sq. feet. Probably with a minimalist approach.
What a precious house!
Jon
Feb 2, 2008 at 1:16 am
The home was featured in the Wash. Post a couple years ago and it was beautifully decorated. Actually, vey high end.
Jul
Feb 2, 2008 at 10:21 am
This place makes the canal houses in Amsterdam look luxuriously spacious. I love the folklore behind it!
Marilyn Terrell
Feb 4, 2008 at 3:42 am
Here’s the electronic version of the 2005 Post story about the fellow who bought the house. The print version had photos of the interior, as I recall:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31199-2005Jan23.html
You used to be able to tour Lee’s Boyhood Home on Orinoco St., until it was sold and then closed to the public. Here’s a site that shows what it looked like when it was open:
http://leeboyhoodhome.com/
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: