# Line house

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{{Short description|Building deliberately built across a geopolitical boundary}}
[[File:The Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec.jpg|thumb|right|The [Haskell Free Library and Opera House](/source/Haskell_Free_Library_and_Opera_House) is the best-known among buildings that straddle the [Canada–United States border](/source/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border). The border is marked with [boulder](/source/boulder)s. In this picture, [Canada](/source/Canada) is on the left side and the [United States](/source/United_States) is on the right.]]
thumb|right|The international boundary is marked as a black line on the floor of the reading room of the Haskell Library. In this picture, Canada is on the right side of the line and the United States is on the left.
[[File:La-Cure-Douane.jpg|thumb|right|[Hotel Arbez](/source/Hotel_Arbez) in [La Cure](/source/La_Cure). The border runs lengthwise through the two buildings, passing just to the left of the [mural](/source/mural). The mural and everything to the right of it lies in [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland), and [France](/source/France) lies to the left.]]
[[File:2016 Views from the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica 16.jpg|thumb|The [Paul VI Audience Hall](/source/Paul_VI_Audience_Hall) on the border between the [Vatican City](/source/Vatican_City) and [Italy](/source/Italy). The border runs crosswise through the building, with the Vatican City on the right side and Italy on the left side of the building.]]
[[File:Italia-SanMarino.JPG|thumb|right|Line house on the border between [Italy](/source/Italy) and [San Marino](/source/San_Marino) in [Dogana](/source/Dogana).]]
[[File:House Shared By Two Countries.jpg|thumb|right|House on the border of [Belgium](/source/Belgium) and the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands) in the towns of [Baarle-Hertog](/source/Baarle-Hertog) and [Baarle-Nassau](/source/Baarle-Nassau) respectively. Belgium is on the left marked with letter "B" on the pavement and the Netherlands is on the right marked with letter "NL" on the pavement.]]
A '''line house''' is a building deliberately located so that an [international boundary](/source/international_boundary) passes through it.<ref>Farfan, Matthew (2009). ''The Vermont–Quebec Border: Life on the Line''. Arcadia Publishing. {{ISBN|0738565148}}</ref><ref>''Joint Report upon the Survey and Demarcation of the Boundary between the United States and Canada from the Source of the St. Croix River to the St. Lawrence River'', [International Boundary Commission](/source/International_Boundary_Commission), 1924, pp.&nbsp;36,&nbsp;40,&nbsp;60,&nbsp;65,&nbsp;73–4,&nbsp;83,&nbsp;107,&nbsp;116,&nbsp;341</ref>

One such building on the boundary between the United States and Canada is the [Haskell Free Library and Opera House](/source/Haskell_Free_Library_and_Opera_House) in [Stanstead, Quebec](/source/Stanstead%2C_Quebec), and [Derby Line, Vermont](/source/Derby_Line%2C_Vermont). The border is marked on the floor in a reading room and an auditorium. A number of single-family residences and some industrial buildings straddle the boundary in those two towns. The [International Boundary Commission](/source/International_Boundary_Commission) encourages line houses to be abandoned as part of its mandate to clearly demarcate the [Canada–United States border](/source/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border). The Haskell Free Library and most other line houses are on the [Collins–Valentine line](/source/Collins%E2%80%93Valentine_line) between Quebec and New York/Vermont.<ref name="clui">{{Cite web |title=Chapter 1: Northern Maine and New Hampshire |url=http://www.clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-1 |website=United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border |publisher=The Center for Land Use Interpretation |publication-date=Winter 2015 |access-date=2017-11-14 |archive-date=2023-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508172819/https://clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>  <!-- During the years 1920–1933, [when alcoholic beverages were prohibited in the United States](/source/Prohibition_in_the_United_States) some businesses had front doors in [Vermont](/source/Vermont) and served alcohol within the same building in [Quebec](/source/Quebec).{{cn|date=March 2016}} -->

Line houses exist also in [Baarle-Hertog](/source/Baarle-Hertog) and [Baarle-Nassau](/source/Baarle-Nassau) on the border between [Belgium](/source/Belgium) and the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hidden Belgium: The town with a split identity |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/623677/hidden-belgium-the-town-with-a-split-identity |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=[The Brussels Times](/source/The_Brussels_Times) |language=en}}</ref>

The border between the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) and the [Republic of Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland) passes through many houses and other buildings.<ref>[https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/irish-border-photos-show-how-16677974 Irish border photos show how invisible line cuts through homes, a graveyard and roads] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612230555/http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/irish-border-photos-show-how-16677974 |date=2024-06-12 }}: ''Belfast Live'', 4 August 2019</ref>

In Sungai Haji Kuning at [Sebatik Island](/source/Sebatik_Island), which is divided between [Malaysia](/source/Malaysia) and [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia), there is a house divided by the countries' borders.<ref>[https://worldofbuzz.com/this-house-built-on-the-middle-of-a-border-is-half-malaysian-and-half-indonesian/ This House Built On the Middle of a Border Is Half Malaysian and Half Indonesian!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101182907/https://worldofbuzz.com/this-house-built-on-the-middle-of-a-border-is-half-malaysian-and-half-indonesian/ |date=2022-11-01 }}, World of Buzz</ref>

[Paul VI Audience Hall](/source/Paul_VI_Audience_Hall), located partially in the [Vatican City](/source/Vatican_City), but mostly in [Rome](/source/Rome), [Italy](/source/Italy): the Italian part of the building is treated as an extraterritorial area of the Holy See and is used by the Pope as an alternative to Saint Peter's Square when conducting his Wednesday morning General Audience.

== See also ==
* [Joint Security Area](/source/Joint_Security_Area)
* [Demilitarized zone](/source/Demilitarized_zone)

== References ==
{{Commonscat|Buildings divided by international borders}}
{{reflist}}

Category:Line house
Category:Building types
Category:International borders

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Line house](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_house) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_house?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.