The million dollar corner refers to a five storey building that stands on the corner of Macy’s on 34th street and Broadway and which had been purchased by Robert. H. Smith in 1900 for $375,000. That was a huge sum in those days equal to approx $10.8 million today. The reason for purchasing the house was to retain it so that it would obstruct the construction of Macys or to stop it from becoming the world’s largest store.
Macy’s ignored the structure and built around it. Today the building still remains and also carries Macy’s banner which reads “The world’s largest store”.
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Among people who refused to leave their homes, Austin Spriggs was offered $3 million for his architectural firm which stood right in the middle of commercial projects during the height of the estate boom in Washington. Developers were constantly in and out of his office doubling and tripling their offers to almost $3 million but Spriggs didn’t budge. Instead he wanted to turn the place into a pizzeria. The area was a hot choice for developers wanting to construct swanky condominiums but Spriggs was in the way.
The foolish Spriggs became the talk of Washington having refused what would have been a golden lottery ticket. Within Four years large condos and apartment buildings sprung up around Spriggs house but Spriggs never ever got to open his Pizzeria. Instead his house was ultimately reclaimed through foreclosure by the Adams National Bank who sold it by Auction to a developer for $750,000. No one knows what happened to Spriggs.
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Wu Ping became somewhat of a celebrity when she held out to Development Company trying to requisition and demolish her house to make way for a supermarket in Chongqing China. Wu’s house stood defiantly right in the middle of the construction site even as skyscrapers sprung up all around her home. Along with Wu, 281 families rejected compensation for new homes and to move from the site in 2004. At one point of time eve her utilities were cut off. Her house was finally demolished on April 4th 2007 but this time she received a huge settlement of 1 million Yuan and a new apartment.
Wu’s story was reported in tabloids across the world and she became an instant celebrity overnight where she has also appeared on TV shows.
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In cities across China, there were several incidents where people refused to vacate their houses to make way for developing projects so the construction started and was completed around them. They became known as “Nail Houses” as they stuck out like a nail that refused to be hammered down. One of the most famous nail houses was in Chongqing Western China.
The home owner even hung the country’s national flag around his home as a mark of protest. When the developer was refused an offer, he started constructed around the house in 2007. The owners finally came to an agreement and the house was demolished in April 2007.
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