# 81: Blinded By The Spite: The Richardson Spite House

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/an-old-timey-podcast-6888779/81-blinded-by-the-spite-the-richardson-spite-house
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/an-old-timey-podcast-6888779/81-blinded-by-the-spite-the-richardson-spite-house.md
Podcast: [An Old Timey Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/an-old-timey-podcast-6888779)
Published: 2025-11-19T12:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8807716
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8807716.mp3?modified=1763482040&sid=5130139&source=rss
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/an-old-timey-podcast-6888779/episodes/81-blinded-by-the-spite-the-richardson-spite-house
Duration seconds: 6448

## Resource

Spite Houses: The architectural equivalent of a middle finger. They’re structures or dwellings designed specifically to piss someone off. This week, Norm does a deep dive into a truly ridiculous spite house, built and owned by an eccentric millionaire named Joseph Richardson. It all started when a man made an offer on Joseph’s 5-foot wide, 102-foot deep tract of land in New York City. Joseph was so offended by the man’s (completely reasonable) offer, that he built an odd, skinny structure right next to the man’s beautiful apartment building. And the wildest part of it all? Joseph Richardson lived in his spite house for fifteen years. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Alpern, Andrew. Holdouts!: The Buildings That Got in the Way . McGraw-Hill, 1984. Documentary History of American Water-Works. “Biography of Joseph Richardson.” http://www.waterworkshistory.us/bio/Richardson/index.htm . Find a Grave. “Joseph C. Richardson (1814-1897).” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58229813/joseph_c-richardson . Miller, Tom. “The Lost 1882 ‘Spite House’ -- No. 1218 Lexington Avenue.” Daytonian in Manhattan , August 27, 2012. https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-lost-1882-spite-house-no-1215.html . New York Architecture. “New York Architecture Images - Spite House.” February 1, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120201111125/http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GON/GON005.htm . New York Daily Herald . “Corporate Elections.” April 8, 1873. New York Daily Herald . “Marriages and Deaths.” July 14, 1872. New York Daily Herald . “The City Railroad Bills.” February 12, 1873. New York Herald . “Financial and Commercial.” March 12, 1874. New York Herald . “Railroads in Utah.” January 27, 1875. New York Herald . “‘Uncle Ben’ R…

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