Most of us have probably pondered at some point in our lives what it would be like to live in a Disney film.
It turns out, however, that an 84-year-old woman was truly living Up in real life… well, sort of.
In 2006, Edith Macefield became a national icon when she refused to sell her Seattle farmhouse despite a massive offer from developers. Look down below:
According to the Seattle Times, the elderly Washington resident purchased the home in 1952 for $3,750 and resided there with her mother Alice.
Even though the house was 108 years old, it was of little value, and property developers were eager to buy it and demolish it to make space for a new shopping mall.
The initial offer to Macefield was $750,000, which was later increased to $1 million.
Despite this life-altering total, Macefield refused, and builders were forced to work around her.
Barry Martin was the development’s construction manager, but instead of viewing him as a bitter rival, Macefield wound up befriending him.
She initially asked him to transport her to a beauty appointment, and later requested assistance with laundry, rides to the doctor, meal preparation, and more.
When Macefield passed away in 2008, she left the home to Martin due to their closeness.
Unfortunately, Martin was forced to sell the property when he lost his job during an economic “downturn.”
During an appearance on Fox’s Strange Inheritance, he explained that Macefield had given him permission to sell before she passed away, stating, “She told me to wait until I got the price I wanted. It was sold for $310,000.”
In addition, he disclosed that his friend’s opposition to the retail mall was merely a desire to remain put.
Martin stated, “Many people believed she was opposed to the development, but this was not the case at all. She didn’t want to move because she didn’t want to go through the effort.”
While it has been widely reported that the home was the inspiration for Disney’s 2009 film Up – about an elderly widower who refuses to sell his home despite the emergence of new development around it – production of the film actually began in 2004, before Macefield even refused to sell.
However, Disney did use the house to advertise the film, as Martin recalls: “They wanted to put balloons on the house for the film’s Seattle premiere.
Therefore, they went outside, placed balloons on the house, and took a picture, which is how it became known as the Up house.
He added, “After viewing the film, I discovered photographs that closely resembled the image in the film.”
As the presenter of Strange Inheritance, Jamie Colby, explained, Edith’s cottage and Carl Fredricksen’s eventually became ‘associated as one’.
Amazingly, the residence, which is still surrounded by buildings, can be found at 1438 NW 46th St. today.
Download The Radiant App To Start Watching!
Web: Watch Now
LGTV™: Download
ROKU™: Download
XBox™: Download
Samsung TV™: Download
Amazon Fire TV™: Download
Android TV™: Download