Some sibling rivalries know no bounds, others literally manifest into buildings. For a lesson in brotherly shade, take a trip to oceanside Beirut where you’ll find a wafer thin building locally known as The Grudge, or Al Ba’sa in Arabic. Essentially a wall masquerading as a building, The Grudge measures only 13 feet at its widest and a measly 2 feet at its narrowest. Amazingly, it houses tenants which makes it the thinnest habitable building in the the world. So why construct such a pointlessly thin building? Well, the story is in the name.
In the 1950s, two brothers inherited land from their father. They quarreled over how to divide the land which held some prime oceanside real estate. It also didn’t help that over the years other city projects were built nearby further complicating the deal and causing awkwardly shaped plots. One brother decided to bite the bullet and took the measly slice of land. But old grudges die hard. In 1954, the brother built his notoriously thin building directly in front of his brother’s, effectively blocking his million dollar view of the Mediterranean.
Not only did he have the last laugh but his brother’s property values fell due to his building facing what was essentially a giant wall. It was the perfect plan of petty revenge.
Today, The Grudge still stands defiantly as a quarrel never to be forgotten and because no one can afford to demolish it. Current zoning laws restrict any homes to be built on such a small plot of land. So if The Grudge were to be demoed nothing else could be built in its place, making the plot more profitable with the house than without it.