The year was 2009 and Pixar had just unveiled the movie UP. Adults everywhere drove their kids to see it, expecting an innocently cute movie about a house floating away on balloons. Little did they know that within its first ten minutes, UP would have reduced the mass majority of adults to a blubbering mess of tears and heartbreak.
PIXAR stated that the film isn’t based on any house in particular, but there was an eerily similar incident occurring around the time that it was in production, leading to the persistent rumor that UP was inspired by true events.
The events in question don’t involve floating houses, talking dogs, or exotic birds named Kevin. But there’s a local legend in Seattle named Edith Macefield, who stood her ground and inspired the local culture. There is a tattoo parlor dedicated to her, and a Macefield Music Festival was held in 2013.
Macefield and her home gained national attention in 2006, when she refused to give up her home for a real-estate project, even after she was offered a million dollars and a replica of her home on an alternate location.
She was quoted as saying “I don’t want to move. I don’t need the money. Money doesn’t mean anything.” As a result…the construction crew built a shopping mall around her house, forming an image that is all too familiar to Disney fanatics.
If there’s a Russell in this story, it would be the construction project’s senior superintendent, Barry Martin. While the other workers feared Macefield for her blunt and stand-offish nature, Martin somehow managed to persevere, forming a strong bond with her. After driving her to get her hair done, he later found himself keeping track of all her doctor appointments, cooking all of her meals, and listening to all of her stories. And this is where things take an even stranger turn.
Barry Martin with Edith Macefield.
See a resemblance? …no? yeah, me neither.
If the stories are to be believed, Macefield deserves a movie of her own. She was a former saxophone player who spied on the Nazis for the British. She escaped from a concentration camp while saving a group of Jewish kids, and had several run-ins with Hitler. She claimed to have met many celebrities during her life, which would become even more confusing when Martin found celebrity autographs on items around the house. Edith would only tell parts of her stories but would change the subject quickly.
Edith Macefield claimed to have been a successful writer in Europe, though little evidence has been found. She returned from Europe to care for her mother, who had just acquired her first house. After her mother passed, Edith continued living in the house.
She showed Martin the couch on which her mother had passed, and expressed that she wanted to live out her remaining days in that little house and to go out on that same couch as her mother did.
Macefield showed no desire to receive such a large sum of money, knowing that her health was failing by then. She saw her old neighborhood demolished after it had stood for so many decades, and simply wanted to be left alone in her Ballard cottage.
When asked whether the construction noises bothered her, she simply pointed out that she lived through WWII, and loud noises didn’t bother her, further cementing her place as one of Seattle’s most well-known folk heroes.
Edith passed away two years later, aged 86, from pancreatic cancer. She left behind more questions than answers, as no photographic evidence of her three husbands, or her time living in Europe were found. Macefield had no surviving relatives, and few friends. She bequeathed the house to Barry Martin, who sold it to pay for his kids’ tuitions.
The future of the house remains undecided after several ideas have been tossed around and scrapped. The house itself remains boarded up in its tiny space between concrete walls, a deteriorated symbol of defiance. It is referred to as the “Up house” by locals and tourists.
We can’t know for sure if these events truly did inspire UP, or if it’s a coincidence. But if you travel to Seattle, you can stop by the UP house and leave balloons at the gate, and show respect for an elderly woman who simply missed her mom and wanted to live at home, on her own terms, with little regard for corporate America.
Remember, my fellow Screenplayas, adventure is out there!
The headline artwork, shared again above, was contributed by artist Scarlett Bustamante. If you would like to browse more of her work, or for any purchase inquiries, you can follow her Instagram profile named Scarlettbustamanteart.
Written by: Michael Gonzalez
Really great story and kindof neat to think that maybe it somehow inspired such a great movie! Thanks for sharing!