Skinny House (Spite House) Boston, MA

This guide to the Skinny House in Boston's North End opens with the postcard legend everyone repeats: two brothers, an inheritance, and a spiteful sliver of a house built to block a view. It follows what Boston Landmarks Commission staff found when they checked that story against the deeds, tracing the property through the Eustis and Hartt families and a watchmaker named Thomas Neely. Look for the front door before you go in — you won't find one.