How far would you go to defend something you care about? Edith Macefield, who had lived in the house for decades, for example, turned down a $1 million offer to save it.
Edith, who passed away in 2008, left an indelible mark on Seattle when she refused to sell her home despite a substantial offer from developers.
Her home in Ballard, Seattle, was sandwiched between two mall-developed plots of property. However, they needed to purchase Edith’s land in order to build the mall according to their designs.
They increased the offer until it reached a startling one million dollars in order to encourage her to sell.
Keeping her home meant foregoing funds that may have gone toward a more suitable location.
Money didn’t matter as much to her as her cherished home did, thus there was no better place for her than the one she already had.
That’s why Edith Macefield stood firm in her refusal of the developers, demonstrating that ordinary people can stand up to big business.
The developers wanted Edith’s land to finish the mall as planned, but she refused.
The developers offered the 84-year-old $1 million to relocate, according to Curbed Seattle, but she believed her home was worth much more.
It’s inspiring to see how the elderly lady has grown to appreciate the worth of her home over time. Giving up her home would entail the loss of priceless memories from her long life.
Developers had no choice but to go back to the drawing board and devise a new plan that did not require the space that Edith’s home occupied.
After accepting the developers’ modest offers, many residents in the neighborhood moved to new homes.
Her neighbors had mostly left, leaving her to savor the memories she had created in her home. Developers had to construct a wall around her home.
Edith’s house was quickly encircled by supermarkets, condos, bakeries, and a slew of other businesses, and it began to look as if it had arrived after the others, rather than the other way around.
Commercial developers were unable to avoid Edith, but they were able to avoid her home. In order to come up with a new strategy, the developers had to start from scratch.
For a long time, they struggled to come up with a new design for the 1000-square-foot house.
All of the other landowners in the area were persuaded by the developers, but Edith was adamant. Edith’s little house was transformed into a classic piece of décor after the mall was built.
Even before she died, Edith made certain that her home was safe and would last a long time after she died.
According to Curbed Seattle, Edith had an unusual relationship with Barry Martin, a construction chief, before she died. Because she was thought to be closed off to growth, the friendship was unusual.
She didn’t mean to make friends with the project superintendent, but she did. Barry used to drive her to and from the hospital after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
She left her home to Barry when she died in 2008, knowing that he would take care of it and ensure that it would last for many years.
The house is still standing after many years. Barry had hoped to convert the house into an Edith memorial but was unable to do so.
He auctioned the house and sold it to Reach Returns. The company planned to open a coffee shop, so they repainted the walls and rearranged the furniture, but their plan failed.
Even as recently as 2018, the mall’s owners attempted to turn it into a major tourist and pop-up restaurant attraction.
The mansion and Edith’s story were both used as inspiration for Disney’s Up.