35 monuments to the perseverance of people who until recently refused to sell their home
When ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, even though they are opposed by governments and powerful corporations, it gives hope that even the "little people" have power and opportunities. The world knows many cases when people refused to sell their house, shop or plot, although this land was needed by developers and offered a lot of money for it.
These stories have been hits in the media more than once — especially in China, where such brave homeowners are widely supported. In Chinese and English, the term nail house or holdout even appeared for such cases, and directors created works of art based on them: for example, the Australian film "Castle" or the well-known cartoon "Up".
85-year-old Edith Macefield (Edith Macefield) in 2006 did not sell her house, even when she was offered a million dollars for it. Once a woman promised a sick mother that she would not give her to any nursing home and let her end her life at home, and then she refused to leave it. Subsequently, this story became the basis for the plot of the cartoon "Up".
When construction began in the Mary Cook neighborhood, all of her neighbors ' homes were destroyed, but she refused to sell her home. Now this pretty house is squeezed between giant neighbors, like an illustration from a children's book.
Vera Coking refused to sell her house twice: first, Bob Guccione, the publisher of the erotic magazine Penthouse, wanted to build a casino on this land, and then Donald Trump's company needed it.
This house belonged to two owners. One of them refused to sell his part, so the house was simply divided in half.
The residents of this house in China were so stubborn about the sale that the government built a road right around the building. They eventually moved out, but the house became a symbol of opposition to developers.
Randall Acker refused to sell his Queen Anne-style home in downtown Portland, and now it's adjacent to a student dormitory at Portland State University.
A road was planned to be built on the site of this house in Guangzhou, but the three families decided not to go anywhere, and the road had to be put on the ring.
Austin Spriggs ' home in Washington, D.C., for which he was offered $ 3 million. He refused, but then sold the building for 4 million, and now there is a cafe chain Le Pain Quotidien ("Daily Bread").
This is the last building left of the old Roubaix district in Northern France, but the owner Salah Ujani is not ready to sell it: he has worked in this coffee shop for the last 46 years.
There was supposed to be another house here, but the Queen Anne style building remains. It's a church now.
July 2013, the latest hero among luxury villas in Suzhou (a city district in China's Jiangsu Province).
Once again, when developers had to build a new house around the old one. Washington.
The price for these houses was so high that the owners of the hotel could not buy them back. The hotel was built around them, and now they have placed souvenir shops.
Here, a Chinese family protested against the construction: the ancient graves of their ancestors were located on this land. For several months, a 10-meter "column" of earth towered over the foundation, but then the family finally received compensation.
Farmers are stuck between three highways. Hundreds of farms left there, but the authorities could not agree with this family.
Chinese woman Wu Ping is the only one of the 241 homeowners who refused to leave. She battled with contractors for almost three years and rejected monetary compensation, but in April 2007, she gave up on a lucrative offer.
A house in the middle of a road under construction in Nanning, China. April 2015. The owner did not agree with the authorities on the amount of compensation for the demolition.
In the Gwangfuli district of Shanghai, residents of several houses refused to leave their homes, and now they are surrounded by expensive apartment skyscrapers.
Zheng Meiji near his home in Ruian, Zhejiang Province. By July 2013, she had been living in a dilapidated house for almost a year, where her access to water and electricity was cut off.
This Japanese guy runs a farm right in the middle of Narita Airport. Along with him, several other farmers refused to leave their land — because of their stubbornness, the runway works only half of the time.
And China again. To surround the reluctant homeowners who refused to leave their 900-year-old village, the builders of the communication line let the river run in a different channel.
The last surviving house of the district on the square in front of the new supermarket. Hunan Province, China.
This five-story building on Broadway in 1900 was bought for a huge amount of money to prevent the Macy's supermarket from becoming the largest store in the world. Macy's was built around it, and in 1911, the million-dollar corner was sold for even more. Now the owner of the supermarket rents this house, and it is decorated with a shopping bag with the inscription "The largest store in the world".
The last house left of the old district, under the bridge in the future parking lot of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. April 6, 2010. In a few days, the building will be demolished, and its owner Shi Yuji will move into a working dormitory.
The house stands on the top of a hill because the land around it was dug up by a developer.
The homes of the most persistent residents at a construction site in Taiyuan, China's Shanxi Province.
A new highway in China was divided in half because the owner of the house refused to sell it to developers. He'd spent years debating whether to move or not.
Keywords: Construction | Houses | Design and architecture | Buildings | Perseverance