Edith Macefield
Encyclopedia
Edith Macefield achieved worldwide notoriety in 2006 when she stubbornly turned down US$1 million to sell her home to make way for a commercial development in the Ballard
neighborhood of Seattle. In the process, she became something of a folk hero
. Instead, the five-story project was built around her 108-year-old farmhouse, where she died at age 86.
After her death it was revealed that Macefield willed her house to the new building's construction superintendent, Barry Martin, in gratitude for the friendship he had shown her during the construction. Martin told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
, "Two or three times she was basically going to sell and move, and then I know the last time she ended up falling and breaking some ribs, and that kind of took the gas out of her, and then it was just too much work."
A Ballard tattoo artist has since created a design based on Macefield's house in remembrance of her, and as a commitment to, "holding on to things that are important to you." Ten people so far are reported to have gotten the tattoo.
On May 26, 2009, Disney publicists attached balloons to the roof of Macefield's house, as a promotional tie-in to their film Up
, in which an aging widower's home is similarly surrounded by looming development.
In July 2009 Barry Martin sold the house to Greg Pinneo for $310,000. Greg Pinneo intends to use the house as an office to run his real estate coaching firm.
Ballard, Seattle, Washington
Ballard is a neighborhood located in the northwestern part of Seattle, Washington. To the north it is bounded by Crown Hill, ; to the east by Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and Fremont ; to the south by the Lake Washington Ship Canal; and to the west by Puget Sound’s Shilshole Bay. The neighborhood’s...
neighborhood of Seattle. In the process, she became something of a folk hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
. Instead, the five-story project was built around her 108-year-old farmhouse, where she died at age 86.
After her death it was revealed that Macefield willed her house to the new building's construction superintendent, Barry Martin, in gratitude for the friendship he had shown her during the construction. Martin told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
, "Two or three times she was basically going to sell and move, and then I know the last time she ended up falling and breaking some ribs, and that kind of took the gas out of her, and then it was just too much work."
A Ballard tattoo artist has since created a design based on Macefield's house in remembrance of her, and as a commitment to, "holding on to things that are important to you." Ten people so far are reported to have gotten the tattoo.
On May 26, 2009, Disney publicists attached balloons to the roof of Macefield's house, as a promotional tie-in to their film Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
, in which an aging widower's home is similarly surrounded by looming development.
In July 2009 Barry Martin sold the house to Greg Pinneo for $310,000. Greg Pinneo intends to use the house as an office to run his real estate coaching firm.