The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-09
DIED IN SPITE HOUSE"
DEMISE OF JOSEPH RICHARDSON, AN
ECCENTRIC MILLIONAIRE.
VIII BE Buried in Cheap Coffin He
stored Away i'm His Barn Thirty
Two Years Ago.

NEW YORK, June S.-Joseph Richard
son. millionaire, died here to-day
in the Spite House, a building which re-
mains a monument to his eccentricity.
Joseph Richardson was eighty-four years
old. He made about 800, G0O 900 in railroad
building and was closely associated with
the Vanderbilts and Goulds. He con-
structed large sections of the Union Pa
citic. Missouri Pacific, Iron Mountain and
Mexican Central ROADS. He came here a
poor boy from England. He always dressed
more like tramp than a wealthy man,
and his greatest aversion was to see his
name in print About fifteen years ago he
built the house he died in-the house known
TO all the upper East Side as the Spite
House." On account of the publicity it
brought to him this house was the trial of
Mr.. Richardson's life. What earned it the
name of Spite House" was the circum-
stances that caused him to build it. Six
teen years ago Heyman Sarner desired TO
build block of apartment houses in East
Eighty-second street west of and adjoining
a strip of land five feet wide and 104 feet
deep extending along Lexington avenue,
owned by Mr.. Richardson To have his
apartment houses front on Lexington
avenue Mr.. Sarner made Mr.. Richardson
an offer of $1,000 for the tive-foot strip. Mr..
Richardson demanded 5000. Mr.. Sarner
declined to pay it, and went ahead and
built his apartment houses, thinking that
the fiVe-foot strip would be useless to any
body, and that his houses would have the
frontage anyway Then Mr.. Richardson
began the construction of a remarkable
house. When completed it was a structure
four Nstories high, 104 feet long and five
feet wide, cunningly devised as dwelling
place and a marvel to look upon. From
the Lexington-avenue side it is comfort
able appearing house, full of windows and
studded with deep bays From Elghty-sec.
ond street it gives one the impression or
a bicycle case set on end. The furniture
in the house was manufactured expressly
to fit a specified space. Spiral Stalrcases
are the rule in the house, and person or
girth has difficulty in ascending them. 1t
is impossible for two persons to pass IN the
hall one being compelled to dodge in a
room until the other goes by. The table
in the dining room is foot and six inches
wide and the rest of the furniture in pro-
portion. To go from one end of the house
to the other on any floor it is necessary to
pass through all the rooms and to dodge
the staircase. Despite the manifest disad-
vantage of his domicile, the eccentric mill
lionaire often declared vehemently that 1t
was the most comfortable house in New
York and his wife agreed with him.
The dead millionaire will be buried in a
coffin he selected thirty-two years ago and
which is now stored in his barn at Bridge
port Conn. 1t is composed of one-lnch
planks cut from d big tree especially Sc
lected by Mr.. Richardson. His greatest
boast was, Il am a working man. L want
no fuss either in life or death. When die,
if my coffin is too large, fill in the empty
space with SaWdust.