Spite fence

Spite fence

A spite fence is an overly-tall fence typically constructed between adjacent lots by a property owner who is annoyed with, or wishes to annoy, a neighbor or who wishes to completely obstruct the view between lots. The fence usually serves no otherwise reasonable purpose to the owner. ("" means anger or maliciousness directed towards someone or something.) State and local governments often have fence height restrictions to restrict the construction of spite fences, though constructing a fence whose appearance just happens to annoy the aesthetic sensibilities of a neighbor is often permissible.

an Francisco

Charles Crocker, a railroad investor and owner of a house on Nob Hill built a high fence around his neighbor's house in the hope of persuading his neighbor to sell having spoiled his view. The neighbor was a German undertaker called Nicolas Yung; Crocker was unsuccessful in purchasing the house until Yung had died. The height of the fence meant supporting buttresses had to be used. [cite web|url = http://www.kingston.gov.uk/browse/leisure/museum/muybridge_collection/panorama/spite_fence.htm | title = The Spite Fence | publisher = The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames | work = Panorama of San Francisco| accessdate = 2008-03-26] The work features in the April 1878 panoramic photo of San Francisco by Eadweard Muybridge. [cite web | url = http://cprr.org/Museum/Archive/san_francisco_1of5.html#Panorama Famous |title = San Francisco Panorama (annotated) | accessdate = 2008-03-26 The spite fence appears near the Charles Crocker Mansion and the Gen. David Colton/Collis Huntington Mansion on California Street. It looks much like a building in its own right. (There are two panoramic photos on this page. The second photo contains arrows pointing to streets and other features, including one arrow that points to the spite fence. You have to scroll to the right to see the entire photo. In the first photo, the one without arrows, the spite fence is about one-eighth the way into the photo from the left edge. In the second photo, the one with arrows, the spite fence is about three-quarters the way in.]

New York

William Waldorf Astor's mansion was next door to that of his aunt, Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, on the block later occupied by that building. William and his aunt did not get along well. William decided to replace his mansion with a hotel, the original Waldorf Hotel. The building not only towered over his aunt's home, it also had no windows at all on the side facing the mansion... thus becoming the "Walled-off" Astoria, a three-dimensional spite fence resulting from an Astor family feud. [cite book|title = The Empire State Building Book | last=Jonathan | first=Goldman | publisher=St. Martin's Press | date=1980 | page = p.14]

Philadelphia

Several Major League Baseball parks have been located in places where it was possible for neighbors on rooftops to watch the games freely. Some club owners responded by building "spite fences" to block the view, at some point after the park's original construction (as opposed to Fenway Park or League Park, which had tall fences from the beginning). For example, this was done at various times at Bennett Park, West Side Park and Wrigley Field. The most notorious of these fences was at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. This action may have brought short-term financial gain to the Philadelphia Athletics, but in the long run, by setting the team apart from the neighborhood, it harmed "both" the builder as well as the target of the construction the wall [cite book | last = Kuklick | first = Bruce | title = To Every Thing a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia, 1909-1976 | publisher = Princeton University Press| date = 1991| id = ISBN 069102104X| page = pp.73-76 |url = http://books.google.com.au/books?id=iayJiAibulUC&pg=PA75&dq=spite+fence+shibe&sig=gTkcs3qiMTVSoBB5ddLHhmBc9H0 |accessdate = 2008-03-26] - the unintended and frequent result of building a spite fence.

Utah

In 2008 a farmer in Hooper, Utah placed three old cars upright in the ground, after a dispute with his neighbors, who objected to the flies, mosquitoes and dust from his farm yet also rejected his proposal to build a fence between them. The press termed the construction 'Redneck Stonehenge'. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080804/ap_on_fe_st/odd_car_fence]

Legal aspects

Depending on the locality, these fences may be regulated by zoning law.

ee also

*Spite house

References

Further reading

* [http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=info:G3iMtghc5C0J:scholar.google.com/&output=viewport Statutory Regulation of Spite Fences in American Jurisdictions]
* [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0008-1221(193809)26%3A6%3C691%3ASFASWR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N Spite Fences and Spite Wells: Relevancy of Motive in the Relations of Adjoining Landowners]

External links

* [http://www.kingston.gov.uk/browse/leisure/museum/muybridge_collection/panorama/spite_fence.htm Description of the Crocker spite fence]


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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • spite fence — noun : an unsightly fence or wall that serves no useful purpose, is so constructed as to be an injury to adjoining property, and is erected and maintained maliciously for the purpose of injuring a neighbor (as by obstructing unreasonably his air …   Useful english dictionary

  • spite fence — a wall or fence erected solely to annoy one s neighbor or lower the value of his or her property. [1895 1900, Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

  • spite fence — A fence of no beneficial use to an owner of premises, but erected and maintained by him for the purpose of annoying his neighbor. 1 Am J2d Adj L § 106 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • spite fence — partition, divider, something that serves to separate …   English contemporary dictionary

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  • Spite house — A spite house is a building generally found in an urban environment that is constructed or modified because someone that the builder feels has wronged him does not want it there. Typically built to annoy someone, in most cases a neighbor, these… …   Wikipedia

  • fence — An inclosure about a field or other space, or about any object, especially an inclosing structure of wood, iron, or other material, intended to prevent intrusion from without or straying from within; a visible or tangible obstruction which may be …   Ballentine's law dictionary

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