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When I did a walking tour there the guide said the very narrow and deep form factor of the houses was to do with the way property was taxed at the time. I imagi
by Neil44 7y ago
When I did a walking tour there the guide said the very narrow and deep form factor of the houses was to do with the way property was taxed at the time. I imagine they're all protected now what with the look of the city being so important for it's tourism industry.
- vijayr02 7y agoMaybe referring to this? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_tax https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_tax > The window tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. I don't know if this tax was levied in the Netherlands, but I've heard of other towns that developed narrow house fronts to minimise this outflow.
- IkmoIkmo 7y agoTax was levied on the width of the house.
- BareNakedCoder 7y agoI thought Window tax was what you have to pay on every PC you buy that you would then scrub and install Linux.
- mpol 7y agoYes, the window tax did exist in the Netherlands. That is why you sometimes see a stone structure where a window had been. This was a way to avoid the tax.
- comprev 7y agoThis is correct and also why you see the super-wide houses on Herengracht ("Gentlemen's canal") as that is where the wealthy traders lived. They could afford the insane tax.
- rayiner 7y agoThe canals were access to transportation, so maximizing number of house fronts on the canal was probably a priority. That probably creates the tax situation too. But you see it elsewhere too. My neighborhood in Maryland has long narrow lots along the river.
- jacquesm 7y agoThe canals were sewer and freight, not regular transportation.
- bobthepanda 7y agoAs a result of its Dutch heritage and to maximize lots facing streets, Manhattan also features long, narrow lots.
- stevehawk 7y agoNew Orleans has shotgun houses "for the same reason", although no historians can find the tax code that caused this. My NOLA wife does not appreciate it when I point this out.
- selimthegrim 7y ago(Writing this from a shotgun in St Claude) I thought it was for easier cooling especially with transoms?
- jbverschoor 7y agoSome windows were closed with brick, because of the tax you had to pay on windows.