Moving Day for Kiggins House: June 1. 2008 and update today

It was moving day and I just couldn't get myself out of bed. Finally, at 7:00 AM I dragged my body out and got dressed. I walked over to Evergreen and they had been at work for 2 hours already! The house was off the lot and into the street but not even 20 feet down the road yet. I patiently waited with others, camera in tow, as the tree trimmer moved from tree to tree cutting necessary branches off in order for the three story home to proceed down the street, around corners and to its final resting place 20 blocks away.


I got there just after they moved it off the lot and into the street. These three photos show what was left of the house area.







The truck with the Kiggins' House turns the first street corner, two blocks from original homestead.



The truck with the house has to wait for trees to be trimmed.


Can you see the tree trimmer climbing into the tree? He is a young man that has a safety rope around him and then he pulls up the power saw that is on the end of a rope separately.

Young men hauled the cut branches out of the street into parking lots where the tree shredder picked them up and cleaned up the streets after the house passed.

The power and cable company trucks were there also as some traffic lights had to be rotated and cable lines lowered to the street and boards placed over them so the tall house on the truck could go by. Then they lifted the cable lines again to their resting place on high poles and turned the traffic lights back into place, way above the street corners.

See those plastic tarps on the end of the truck holding the house? The young men spread them under the tires to make some of the tire maneuvering glide more easily.

I watched the slow process until it was time for me to catch a bus and go to church. When I left, they had moved down Evergreen to Broadway, two blocks down Broadway to C street,turned and went one block east, turned and went down hill to Mill Plain and crossed it That was 7 blocks of the journey of 20. It was 10:00 AM!




After church and some other errands, I went to the place I knew it would be if moving was finished and there it was, waiting to be placed on the cement basement that would have to be poured first. They had arrived by 2:00 PM the newspaper said. . .


This is the area behind another house that it will eventually be placed. The sand and gravel layer is poured and smoothed over.

This is the plot of land that it will reside on. The people that bought the old historical house will remodel it and live in it. They already restored the house in the front yard where it is going to be placed behind. The other side leads to a city park. It is only 5 blocks from where I live now. The same people already restored the old house pictured above and that will be in front of this one.

This is the garage that was left behind. I doubt that there would be room on the property for it and am not sure if it was a part of the historical 101 year old house. I will make weekly reports on the progress with pictures and captions.

Last time I went over there, the house was still there. I will go this afternoon and see if they moved it and take more photos if there is any progress.

LATEST UPDATE -- June 5, 2008
I did go by the place through the park and at the end of the park, this is what greeted me: More views of the house getting in place. Now I see that the front will be facing the grassy knoll with the freeway beyond to the east and the park to its left. The driveway on the west , which serves their current house, will probably be the driveway for this house which they plan to eventually live in. The big house on the lot was restored by this family; they live in it now and it is for sale presently.

View from the park.
Looking down into the "hole" where it will be placed.
View from the south.