Spite fence
Encyclopedia
Fence
A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...
, structure in the nature of a fence, or a row of trees, bushes, or hedges, constructed or planted 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 or row of trees usually serves no purpose to the owner. Several states and local governments have fence and tree height restrictions to restrict the construction and planting of a spite fence.
San Francisco
Charles CrockerCharles Crocker
Charles Crocker was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Crocker was born in Troy, New York, to a modest family and moved to an Indiana farm at age 14. He soon became independent, working on several farms, a sawmill, and at an iron forge. In 1845 he founded a small, independent iron...
, a railroad investor and owner of a house on Nob Hill
Nob Hill, San Francisco, California
Nob Hill refers to a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, centered on the intersection of California and Powell streets. It is one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills."-Location :...
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. The work features in the April 1878 panoramic photo
Panoramic photography
Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio...
of San Francisco by Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
.
New York
William Waldorf AstorWilliam Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor
William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor was a very wealthy American who became a British nobleman. He was a member of the prominent Astor family.-Life in United States:...
's mansion was next door to that of his aunt, Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor
Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor
Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor was a prominent American socialite of the last quarter of the 19th century. Famous for being referred to later in life as "the Mrs. Astor" or simply "Mrs. Astor", she was the wife of real estate heir William Backhouse Astor Jr...
, 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
Astor family
The Astor family is a Anglo-American business family of German descent notable for their prominence in business, society, and politics.-Founding family members:...
feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
.
Philadelphia
Several Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
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
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
or League Park
League Park
League Park was a baseball park located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was situated at the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and E. 66th Street in the Hough neighborhood. It was home to the National League Cleveland Spiders, the American League Cleveland Indians, and the Cleveland...
, which had tall fences from the beginning). For example, this was done at various times at Bennett Park, West Side Park
West Side Park
West Side Park was the name used for two different baseball parks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League. Both parks witnessed championship baseball...
and Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
. The longest-lasting of such spite fences was at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, which stood for the last half of the ballpark's six decades of use. This action may have brought short-term financial gain to the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, but in the long run, by setting the team apart from the neighborhood, it harmed both the builder as well as the target - an unintended result of building a spite fence.
Utah
In 2008 a farmer in Hooper, UtahHooper, Utah
Hooper is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States, first called Muskrat Springs and later Hooperville for Captain William H. Hooper, an early Utah delegate to Congress. The population was 3,926 at the 2000 census...
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 farmer himself termed the construction as 'Redneck Stonehenge'.