The Real-Life Story That Inspired Up

In 2007, we had a post about Edith Macefield and her refusal to sell her home, even though a high-rise was going up all around her little house in Seattle. Edith died in 2008.

In 2009, we posted a picture of Macefield’s house festooned with balloons as a promotion for the then-new Pixar movie Up. Many speculate that the movie was inspired by Macefield.

You might not know the rest of the story. Who got the house when Macefield died? She willed it to Barry Martin, the construction chief of the project that went up around her house! The two had become good friends during the building controversy. He is making sure that Macefield's legacy lives on. Read the whole story, with pictures, at Buzzfeed.