Dear Spider-Man, do you really live at 20 Ingram Street? If you’ve ever written a letter to the web-slinging hero, chances are it may have instead made its way to Jack Shi. Hailing from China, Shi owns the home at the address where Aunt May and Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man live in the comics.
Shi initially had no idea that he was buying the house at this infamous address, which is 20 Ingram Street in Forest Hills, New York. It wasn’t until he started getting letters addressed to Spider-Man that he realized the significance of the number on his new house.
“Spider-Man, this is the American spirit. If I am living here, I should do as Spider-Man,” Shi said to The New York Post. “If someone wants to take a picture, I say yes.”
Shi now feels the responsibility that comes with owning the multi-million-dollar home—other than the steep house cleaning bill. Lovingly receiving letters from hopeful kids writing to Spidey alongside welcoming hordes of photo-taking fans from all over the world has made Shi a hero himself to many fans.
The address even appears on Google Maps as “Spider-Man’s home.”
Unless May and Ben were exceedingly well off, the likelihood of them being able to afford to own the home is slim. It seems Marvel has caught on to this and has changed the location of his abode in recent additions to the franchise.
Along with this, after the release of Brand New Day, internet users have joked (and genuinely questioned) about the fact that there was no indication throughout the movie that Spider-Man has a job of any kind, though he has his own apartment and upgrades his suit and gear every other scene. As arguably the most street-level installment in the Tom Holland run thus far, it seems the one fact of life the writers neglected to touch on was paying rent. And no, this isn’t just me lamenting the lack of journalistic representation, though I do miss Daily Bugle Peter.
In an odd coincidence, one resident of Ingram Street reported that the past residents shared the hero’s last name: Parker. That’s very cool. If you’re looking to reach Spider-Man with your letter, you may just get an everyday hero reading it.