My wife's family are all from back east and, when asked about the narrow frontage so prevalent there, maintain that it's because taxes were assessed based on the part facing the street and not the total area, back in the day. Therefore, people built long and narrow to avoid the Tax Man's grasp.

I have no idea if that's true or not but it's at least as plausible as some of the other bizarre tax dodges I've heard of.

--sofaspud
--few times I've been back east I've felt claustrophobic; everything's so cramped, feels like