This modern-day folk hero had a mall built around her home

Did Edith Macefield inspire the movie "UP"?

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Created by Destination Strange - November 21st 2016

In the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, there’s a huge shopping mall with a strange hole in the center of the building. Inside that gap sits a tiny house with an amazing story that some say inspired Pixar’s "UP".

Edith Macefield wasn’t your average senior citizen. At 84 years old, she saw the quirky little neighborhood of Ballard becoming more and more gentrified. Old houses were being replaced with boutique shops and diners replaced with condos. When developers came knocking on her little two-story home with plans to bulldoze the surroundings and build a shopping mall, she refused to sell, even after they offered her a million dollars.

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Seattle, WA

When asked why she wouldn’t sell, her answer was simple:


The developers had no choice but to build around her, and as they did, she formed an unlikely friendship with the construction chief, Barry Martin. He found himself looking after Edith, picking up her medications, groceries, and eventually bonding with the stubborn woman. When he began to notice that Edith didn’t seem to keep any weight on, it was he who drove her to the hospital and sat with her when it was discovered that she had pancreatic cancer.

When Edith passed away at the age of 87, everyone discovered that she had done something completely unexpected: she had willed her home to Barry.

Anchor Tattoo

Now, Edith has become something of a folk hero, inspiring locals to get tattoos of the small house at nearby Anchor Tattoo, which has a design inspired by Macefield that they say serves as a reminder to "hold on to things that are important to you."

Photo Credit: Facebook/Anchor Tattoo

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The home itself has now been lovingly remodeled, its leaning walls fixed and its windows replaced. Plans are in the works to raise the house and add a public square below, with flowing waters and a garden. Even a music festival has sprung up around Edith’s act of defiance. While it's unlikely that Edith inspired "UP", since production started on the film several years before Edith turned down the million dollars, it's a heartwarming reminder to never give up, always be kind, and that you're never too old to make a stand for what you believe in.