place

Hollensbury Spite House

1830 establishments in VirginiaFederal architecture in VirginiaHistory of Alexandria, VirginiaHouses completed in 1830Houses in Alexandria, Virginia
Hollensbury Spite House
Hollensbury Spite House

The Hollensbury Spite House is a spite house located at 523 Queen Street in Alexandria, Virginia. The narrow building measures 7-feet 6-inches (2.3 m) wide and is often called the skinniest house in the United States. The house has drawn international attention, being covered by numerous news outlets, and was once featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. It is frequently visited by tourists who often pose in front of the building and is also included on local history tours. The house is 350 square-feet (32.5 sq m) but also includes an outdoor patio and garden, providing additional entertaining space. Because of its narrow front door and small interior space, the house is decorated with smaller furniture pieces and antiques. The building's namesake, John Hollensbury, reportedly built the house in 1830 to stop people loitering in the alley adjoining his house and to prevent wagon-wheel hubs from damaging the house's exterior walls. This is the most commonly known story as to why the house was built, but there are also two other possibilities. The other stories involve a dispute with his neighbor and the second as a gift to his two daughters. Whichever story is true, the scenario involving a man who built a home out of spite is the one that has made the Hollensbury Spite House a local landmark. It is one of four spite houses in Alexandria, the others being built in the 1800s as well.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hollensbury Spite House (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Hollensbury Spite House
Queen Street, Alexandria

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Hollensbury Spite HouseContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 38.807194444444 ° E -77.045083333333 °
placeShow on map

Address

Queen Street 521
22314 Alexandria
Virginia, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Hollensbury Spite House
Hollensbury Spite House
Share experience

Nearby Places

Lee–Fendall House
Lee–Fendall House

The Lee–Fendall House is a historic house museum and garden located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia at 614 Oronoco Street. Since its construction in 1785 the house has served as home to thirty-seven members of the Lee family (1785–1903), hundreds of convalescing Union soldiers (1863–1865), the prominent Downham family (1903–1937), the family of powerful labor leader John L. Lewis (1937–1969), and enslaved or free servants of those families. The 1785 house, standing on its original half-acre lot, is in the vernacular "telescopic style" of architecture similar to many Maryland homes, but rare in northern Virginia (see below). The house was renovated in 1850, adding Greek Revival and Italianate elements to the original structure. The historic home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for state significance and the Virginia Landmarks Register, and is a documented contributing feature to the National Historic Landmark District of Alexandria, Virginia. The property is now owned and operated by the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation. It is run as the Lee-Fendall House Museum and Garden providing exhibits, tours, and special programs to: Preserve its architectural and historic value Bring to light the key business, political, military, and labor roles played by its enslaved or free people Spread knowledge and appreciation for Alexandrian, Virginian, and American history.The Lee–Fendall House Museum and Garden is usually open for tours on the hour Wed.-Sat. 10–3, and Sun. 1–3. Call (703) 548-1789 to confirm. Special programs, educational videos, and related materials can be found on the Museum web site and social media. The Museum and Garden is also available for private rentals.

Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)
Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)

Christ Church is an Episcopal church located at 118 North Washington Street, with an entrance at 141 North Columbus Street, in Alexandria, Virginia. Constructed as the main church in the Church of England's Fairfax Parish, the building was designed by Col. James Wren, a descendant of Sir Christopher Wren. To finance construction of the church, the Fairfax Vestry raised 31,186 pounds of Oronoco tobacco from parishioners. Construction began in 1765, under the direction of James Parsons. After four years, the church was still unfinished. The vestry relieved Parsons of his duties as overseer of the construction. John Carlyle accepted the position and handed the keys of the completed building over to the vestry in February 1773. Initially the pews were box pews and a two-tier pulpit was situated on the north side of the sanctuary. There was no font because until after the Civil War, weddings, baptisms, and the churching of women took place at home. In the mid-nineteenth century, stoves were put in the back of the church and the box pews were converted to the slips that are in use today. During a renovation later that century, the original pulpit was replaced by the current wine-glass pulpit. The only remaining hand-carved hymnal rack is in the Lee pew. The plaques on either side of the chancel were hand-lettered by Wren and have never been retouched. They display the Decalogue, the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and the Golden Rule. Wren used ink and then varnished his work just as an artist varnishes a finished painting. Over time the carbon in the ink and the alcohol in the varnish formed an acetate that created the wonderful burnished patina of the plaques. If you look closely, you can see Wren's brushstrokes and one drip. George Washington, Henry Lee, Robert E. Lee, Charles Simms, Philip Marsteller, and Henry Fowler are a few of the church's notable parishioners (members). Until the twenty-first century, it was tradition for sitting presidents to attend a service. Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Eleanor Roosevelt visited the church on January 1, 1942 to commemorate World Day of Prayer for Peace. The church was known as Fairfax Church until given the name Christ Church in 1816. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.