Real Pixar's UP House

Ever see the Pixar movie UP? Whodathunk there was some truth mixed into the plot as a persistent old man who refuses to sell his home is quickly surrounded by the momentum of "progress" sandwiching him home amongst skyscrapers? The real life home (pictured here) and small property the movie was based on belonged to a widow of 86 years of age named Edith Macefield. Originally taking ownership of the home in 1952 when the neighborhood look much different Edith and her late husband raised a family. In 2006 developers wanted to make this part of a newly constructed mall and she flatly refused despite offers of over $1 million.

Her persistence paid off and won her a local community reputation of a hero status for "standing up against the system." Like her movie counterpart Carl Fredricksen she did not want to trade years and years of good memories for a pay out. It was the only home she ever knew and she did not want to be forced out. As you can tell by the photo, construction occurred anyway, essentially surrounding her property and causing it to look quite out of place. A curious construction worker named Barry Martin soon developed a relationship with Edith and began checking up on her regularly, thoroughly enjoying her many stories. 

When Edith finally passed away, she left the home to Barry since he took the time to learn about her, the history, and had great appreciation for his kindness. Though he has since sold the property to help fund the education of his children, he made sure to write a book about Edith and the memories she shared called, Under One Roof. The mall and its ownership finally stopped efforts to demolish the houses though they did continue making offers to several owners as it passed along from hand to hand. They realized in some sense it was actually a value to leave it alone for the amount of foot traffic it attracted to the area. Recently and entire music festival has been organized to pay homage to Edith and her fighting spirit that include options to get tattoos of the house on your person, enjoy massive mural art displays, plus a whole host of tourist booths in the street in front of the house during the event.

Though life often imitates art, this is a case of the exact opposite. For more on this story, click on the video below: