In Spite of It All: The Spite Houses

IN SPITE OF IT ALL

THE SPITE HOUSES OF ALEXANDRIA

Story by Liesel Schmidt | Photography by Lucia Smith

The Old Town landscape is rife with interesting buildings that hold centuries of history, complete with all the architectural peculiarities that come from that history—and the aptly named spite houses are among those quirky characteristics that make the area such a gem. Called "spite houses" because they were literally built to spite neighboring property owners, these structures are, by design, utterly impractical and strange. Creating obstructions to light or blocking access to adjacent buildings, these are the embodiment of rebelliousness, a brick-and-mortar example of just how intensely property owners could go toe-to-toe to assert their rights and mark their territory. Amidst the oldmeets-newness that makes Old Town Alexandria such a spectacularly charming community, spite houses pop up like wildflowers in a field of hothouse roses, mischievous little sprites among stoics. Imbued with stories and all the character that comes from withstanding the passage of so much time, the malice from which these architectural oddities were created has since been replaced by a sense of charm. The spite house that stands at 523 Queen Street is no exception, measuring seven feet wide and approximately 25 feet deep, its bright blue façade boldly announces its place as the narrowest house in America. Boasting a modest 325 square feet, the historic Hollensbury Spite House is two stories of spiteful planning at its finest. Built in 1830 by John Hollensbury, a local brickmaker and city council member who also owned the buildings on either side, the infinitesimal home was constructed with the explicit intent of barring passage for horse-drawn wagons and keeping rowdy loiterers out of his alley. More enclosed alleyway than house, the brick walls of the older houses create the side walls—complete with pockmarks from wagon wheels in the living room that testify to Hollensbury’s reasons for building it.

Predating the city’s other spite houses, 205 King Street is also one for the books. Built somewhere in the late 18th or early 19th century, it’s wider than its fellow spite houses, measuring just under 12 feet. And while the house’s red brick matches well with the buildings flanking it, its robin’s egg blue door adds a splash of color to the otherwise unremarkable façade, while large, mullioned windows on both stories flood the space with light. In the early 1900s, the spite house was used as a cobbler shop. It continues to be an enchanting retail space today, home to the She's Unique jewelry store, despite the spite that brought about its existence.

At only one story high and measuring just over eight feet wide, 1401 Prince Street is the most diminutive of Old Town’s spite houses, seemingly a miniature version of the six row houses neighboring it to its left. It is painted the same color as its adjacent buildings and boasts a small fish scale mansard roof that mirrors its larger counterparts. While tax records indicate that it may have been built in 1900, the tiny spite house was most likely built shortly after 1912 and bears a variation of Victorian architecture.

Boasting a whopping 600 square feet of living space plus a 240 square foot basement, 403 Prince Street’s sevenfoot-nine-inch wide façade belies just how large it is inside. Built sometime in the 1800s, this deceptively spacious spite house was, once-upon-a-time, painted to blend seamlessly with the buildings on each side. Recently, it was renovated to stand out in the best possible way and shine like the unique little treasure it is. Natural brick offset with white trim, black shutters, a red door and beautiful copper accents including a downspout and new Bevolo light all make it quite the charmer.

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MEATBALL MADNESS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF HEENEY In celebration of National Meatball Day, Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap recently hosted their first Annual Meatball Madness Relay. Teams raced while balancing Lena’s signature giant meatballs on spoons. All entries were donated to Carpenter’s Shelter, a local charity on a mission to support at-risk/homeless individuals in need of housing, guidance, education and advocacy.

Grill Master Gift Guide

TOP 10 NEEDS FOR EVERY GRILLMASTER

Brought to you by Village Hardware | Story by Liesel Schmidt | Photography by Jeff Heeney

1. A GREAT GRILL

You can never go wrong with a Weber Grill! From a charcoal start-up to the most advanced built-in natural gas or liquid propane grills, always look at a Weber first!

The Village recommendation: The Weber E-435

2. SAFETY

You can never be too safe. Keep your grill clean! Get a good cover for the grill, a cleaning brush, an apron, mittens (or gloves) for moving hot products and all of the correct grilling utensils needed for transferring products.

The Village recommendation: A basic E-435 grill cover, cleaning brush and utensil set

3. ACCESSORIES

Whether you are an avid griller or just starting out, eventually you’ll find your niche as to how (and what) you like to cook. If you like a smoky flavor, you may want a rotisserie to go with your grill (use Weber Smoking Chips). Or you could be a fan of cast iron (Lodge Cast-Iron) cooking. There's a thousand accessories for anyone’s taste and style of grilling.

The Village recommendation: A fitted rotisserie assembly for the Weber E-435

4. SMOKE

Having already mentioned smoking products, don’t hesitate to get frisky and add some smoke to your cook. With a gas grill, you can get a smoker box and smoking chips that will add a great deal of flavor. We have several varieties of chips, wraps and planks to enhance any cook.

The Village recommendation: Weber smoking chips in multiple varieties

5. SAUCES, RUBS, SPICES AND MARINADES

There’s no accounting for what a person tastes, so at Village Hardware, we’ve arranged for anyone looking to season their product the opportunity to sample any one of hundreds of our products to fit your and your family’s individual pallets or to fit a great party for everyone!

The Village recommendations: EAT BARBECUE “Zero to Hero” (a rub), HOOSIER DADDY smokehouse hickory bbq sauce, AR's hot southern honey (just great to cook with)

6. A THERMOMETER

So you’ve decided to do a big rotisserie chicken or roast on the grill. You can’t hook a wired thermometer to the product as the wires would tangle up the whole project. Instead, use the new MEATER thermometer; a wireless thermometer that registers the ambient temperature of the grill and the product temperature simultaneously right to your phone up to 165 feet away.

There is nothing tastier than seasoned grilled veggies. The way to protect them and prevent any mishaps or lost food is to use a copper mesh product called the Yoshi grill mat. It separates the food from the grates and keeps everything intact with beautiful grill marks included.

The Village recommendation: Yoshi grill mats

8. SIDES

There should always be sides; just something fun to cook for folks to sample prior to the main event. We recommend Buffalo wings made with Frank & Teressa's Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce. We have the medium heat sauce and the suicidal hot sauce, all original recipes.

The Village recommendation: Frank and Teressa's Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce

9. CLEAN-UP

Before finishing up, you’ll want to take care of the grill and help prep it for the next time out. We have a variety of grill cleaning products available that will eliminate even the toughest grilled-on product.

The Village recommendations: Simple Green Heavy Duty BBQ grill cleaner and Weber stubborn stain remover

10. YOU

No, we haven’t forgotten the most important element of them all… you! That's why we’ve started stocking a great variety of bar products including some fantastic bloody mary mixes, margarita mixes, strawberry mixes, oldfashioned bitters, Woodford reserve bitters and much, much more.

The Village recommendation: Bloody Revolution roasted garlic bloody mary mix