Loading ...I wrote last week about the two old houses in Berkeley, California that are in desperate need of someone to save them. All a person needs to do is submit a proposal to move one or both of the houses to another location, and they may get them for as little as a dollar each.
Of course the big job and cost is moving them, and having a location for them to go to. To someone who hasn’t been involved in the moving of a house before the project might seem to be too large to undertake, and more than likely cost prohibitive. I mentioned that I had been involved in the moving of a home in the past, and as long as you kept various factors in mind such as hiring a good contractor and the route that would be used for the move, it was possible to undertake a successful move and not go broke while doing it.
I happened to come across an article that shows what is possible if someone falls in love with an old house and wants to save it. The story is similar to the situation in Berkeley, this was an old house that needed to be moved or it would be demolished. The house was near Baltimore, Maryland, and this couple decided they wanted to save the home. They bought it for a dollar. They hired a contractor to move the old house, placed it on a piece of property they have, built a foundation for it, and had it lowered into place. This couple gave the old house a new life.
The house is a work in progress. They are restoring it as they have time, but it already has regained some of what its original splendor must have been, and the old house will live on for many more years. I think it is human nature that we enjoy something much more when we know we worked hard to accomplish a feat that many considered impossible and were reluctant to undertake themselves.
I believe this couple will feel that sense of satisfaction for the rest of their lives, that they were involved in saving an old house that deserved being saved. I also believe that anyone who saves those houses in Berkeley will feel the same sense of satisfaction, and hopefully after reading about this couple in Baltimore will realize what is possible if you put your mind to it.
5 Responses to “Please Help Save These Old Houses In California Part II”
Such a beautiful house! The house moving photos are great. Moving houses used to be pretty common but it’s much more difficult - and expensive - nowadays with all the overhead wires. Hope the California homes are saved.
Liz
Here are some photos of a house move in Portland, Oregon of the historic Ladd Carriage House. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomturnbull/558795946/in/photostream/
It was quite an event which many people came to watch. Here is a time lapsed video of the process done by Oregonian News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl4N7jJGX4
That timelapse video is so cool. So much intricate work goes into moving such a huge delicate structure. Let’s hope we have some willing people to keep this beautiful house still standing. There a website dedicated to saving these houses besides pleas on blogs and around the internet? Need to get an online petition going.
This is an absolutely touching appeal for a desperate situation. It’s a shame that more value is placed on ‘newly’ pretention than history. The challenging economy will make this fight tougher.