RIP ~ Miss Edith
Let’s not forget about Edith Macefield. She was the Ballard woman who made national news when she was offered $1 million to leave. She turned it down flat.
Edith lived in the same house on NW 46th St. for the last 56 years. She made national news in 2006 when she refused to sell her home for $1 million to developers. Construction crews then proceeded to build the development around her. “I went through World War II, the noise doesn’t bother me,” Macefield told the Seattle P-I. “I liked the old Ballard. The new one—you can have it.”
Edith Macefield passed away on Sunday of natural causes, according to the medical examiner’s office. She was 86 years old.
The story reminds me of the children’s book, The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. It’s about progress and a sweet little house being nearly swallowed up by the city that encroaches it.
The beginning construction of the five-story building around her house
Here’s the side view. You can’t even see Macefield’s house. Her blue car is parked in between the Honey Buckets and orange cones. And right across the street is a land use sign that says a four-story office building will be under construction soon.
Macefield has no known surviving family, so we’ll have to wait and see what will happen next with her property and house.
Meanwhile, Ledcor Construction said it designed the structure to absorb the property if it became available. “Spots have been left so steel beams could be inserted into the concrete to complete the upper floor, assuming Edith’s home is sold and torn down,” said a Ledcor construction manager
Update: The local media is now on the story. Seattle PI and Seattle Times
Kind of sad, but with time… there is always change.
RIP ~ Miss Edith
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