Creative Land Use:
The World's Narrowest Commercial Building
by Steve Carlson
Once in a while, it's possible to fight city hall and win.
Back in 1912, Chang Toy wanted to build a structure in Vancouver, B.C., for his
business, the Sam Kee Company. The city fathers tried to thwart the project by
expropriating most of Chang Toy's lot for a street-widening project. He was left
with an apparently useless strip of land less than six feet wide.
In defiance, Chang Toy went ahead and built the structure, using steel girders
and reinforced concrete. On the inside, it measured 4 feet 11 inches by 100 feet. Big
bay windows on the