Tiny house La Casa Estrecha — Attraction in San Juan

Algo único en PR y en este Hemiferio. Two-story house known as La Casa Estrecha. Measuring a mere five feet, three inches across, the house was once a neglected alleyway before it was transformed into a habitable abode by architect Antonio Álvarez.

Ensconced between two regular-sized buildings, “The Narrow House” draws visitors to tour its surprising dimensions. Its facade features a vibrant yellow hue and a lush green door, making it very hard to miss! Álvarez bought the house when it was a “complete ruin” and according to this video, the design is all his own.

Despite its slim stature, the house has all the basic amenities of a home, including a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. The bathroom’s design, however, is a bit tricky: without enough space for a separate shower area, the floor was fitted with a drain under the sink area, so all the washing goes down in one spot.

“It was a great challenge to design this space because the stairways [had to be placed] in very strategic parts,” Álvarez says on the video tour. The custom stairwell features alternate steps that extend the height of the house, because traditional steps just wouldn’t work in such narrow settings. Today, Álvarez uses the house as a gallery to showcase local artwork.

It may be the narrowest house around, but a small balcony on the top floor opens to reveal a magnificent wide-angle view of the San Juan Bay and the colorful streets of Old San Juan below.

Know Before You Go The best hours for a tour are between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Call in advance for an appointment. There’s a $5 suggested donation for...

Revised on April 2021 from originally July 2017.

Most of these reviews are not really talking about this building/home. This home is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the smallest house/apartment. The location is good with a nice view when you look out it's window or the rooftop. If you're inside it, it's mentioned that you can touch both sides of the walls if you stretch out your arms. This was a small passageway to the back quarters of the two buildings between it. The backyard area was then used up and it became useless passageway. So plans were made up to build a home.

Most people pass it and don't give it another look because they don't know about this historical place. I only knew about this home because someone mentioned it to me on my visit to PR as I was passing by it. I then took the time looked it up and got information on it. This is located very close to El Parque Las Palomas/The Park of the Pigeon in Old San Juan. Just ask some of the locals and they'll point out where you need to go. It's right on the side of the corner. You can also YouTube it and see video of the inside of the home. If you enjoyed the information then hit like.

I would really like to someday have the pleasure of entering and see it's inside...

Tried to visit just now on a Friday at 5:45pm based on the open hours on Google Maps which shows it's open until 7pm. However, it wasn't open and the employees next door advised that people live there now so it's only available to see by making reservations. I wish I knew this before spending a $25 Uber ride specifically to see...