Everyone thinks Boston’s famed skinny house, sold for $1.25 million, was built out of spite — but that might be a century-old myth.
September 14, 20240
The facade of Hull Street in a photograph taken in the late 1800s, right, appears to directly contrast the “spite” myth.
CL Properties, Boston Public Library
A photo taken around 1875, available through the Boston Public Library, provides a closer look at the architecture of the front-facing windows on Hull Street.
The siding and window overhangs in the photo appear to be identical to what’s on the skinny house today.
That is perhaps evidence that the house was not built separately from its surrounding structures but that the surrounding structures were also once made of wood and later converted into brick.
Many tourists who flock to 44 Hull Street hear the popular stories, centered on spite, from tour guides.
The funky-looking house was probably not built out of spite in 1862, contrary to its sign.
CL Properties
44 Hull Street remains a popular visitor destination, with multiple travel blogs and websites calling it a hidden gem to add to any tourist itinerary of Boston.
If people still believe that the slender home was built out of revenge, let them.
But while the “spite house” origin story is fun, it’s probably just an urban myth.
