The aptly nicknamed Skinny House at 708 Gladys Avenue (corner of 7th Street) in the Rose Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States, is a narrow three-story house that has been cited by both the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley's Believe It or Not as the nation's skinniest house. [1] [2]
The yellow- stuccoed house was built on a lot measuring 10 feet (3.0 m) by 50 feet (15 m) in 1932 by Newton P. Rummonds, who received the land as a repayment for a $100 loan one year earlier. [3] [4] [5] He built the 860-square-foot (80 m2) house after someone bet him that he could not build a habitable house on such a small lot.
In 1959, it was discovered that the house had leaned 4 inches (100 mm) to the north and was straightened. The Skinny House is a registered city landmark of Long Beach, California, as of 1983. [6] [7]
Public interest lawyer William John Cox maintained his law practice in Skinny House between 1977 and 1981, including his prosecution of the Holocaust denial case.[ citation needed]
The house was featured in a segment of The Early Show. [8]
See also
References
- ^ 101 Things to do in Long Beach, California
- ^ LA Times, October 29, 2001
- ^ Builder's name was Newton P(rice) Rummonds, as in LA Times article (note 2, above), not "Nelson" erroneously used in 101 Things to do in Long Beach, California (note 1, above).
- ^ Longbeach.gov
- ^ Virtual Globe Trotting.com
- ^ Long Beach Historic Landmark designation 16.52.170
- ^ Press-Telegram, Famed `Skinny House' in Long Beach, Calif., Goes Up for Sale., October 26, 2001
- ^ "Skinny House of Long Beach". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.