Structure relocation

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A structure relocation is the process of moving a structure from one location to another. There are two main ways for a structure to be moved: disassembling and then reassembling it at the required destination, or transporting it whole. For the latter, the building may be pushed on temporary rails if the distance is short. Otherwise, wheels, such as flatbed trucks, are used. These moves can be complicated and require the removal of extraneous parts of the building, usually the chimney, and obstacles along the journey, such as overhead cables and trees.

Reasons for moving a building range from commercial reasons such as scenery to preserving an important building that was in a fragile environment. Moves may also be made simply at the whim of the owner, or to separate a building from the plot of land that it stands on.

1 Notable moves
- 1.1 Whole moves
- 1.2 Reassembly moves
2 Museum collections
3 Reasons for moving a structure
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Notable moves

[edit] Whole moves

An 1837 engraving of Buckingham Palace showing the original location of Marble Arch.

The Gem Theatre and Century Theatre, both housed within the same building in Detroit, were moved five-blocks on wheels to its new location at 333 Madison Avenue on 16 October 1997, because of the development of the Comerica Park area when it became home of the Detroit Tigers. At a distance of 563 meters (1,850 ft) it is the furthest known relocation of a sizable building.^[1] As part of the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center development the Shubert Theatre was moved between 9 February 1999 and 21 February 1999. The 2,638 tonne (2,596 short ton) building was moved three city blocks as is the heaviest recorded building move done on wheels.^[2]

London's famous monument Marble Arch was originally the entrance to the newly rebuilt Buckingham Palace but it was found to be too narrow for the state coach. It was moved to its present location of Hyde Park in 1851.^[3]

Relocation of old Villa Haux in 1907

The 850 tonne Belle Tout lighthouse was built in 1831 and located near the edge of the cliff on the next headland west from Beachy Head, East Sussex, England. It was moved more than 17 metres (50 ft) further inland in 1999 due to cliff erosion. It was pushed by four hydraulic jacks along four steel and concrete beams to a new site that was designed specifically to allow for possible future relocations.^[4]

In 1999, the 208 foot (63 m) tall, 2540 tonne Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was moved 2900 feet (883 m) to protect it from being undermined by beach erosion. When it was built in 1870, the lighthouse was over 1,500 feet (460 m) from the sea, but by 1935 the beach had eroded and the waves were only 100 feet (30 m) away. Starting in 1930 many efforts to halt the erosion were attempted, including adding over a million cubic yards of loose sand, massive sandbags, and steel and concrete walls. After nearly 70 years it became apparent that fighting the erosion was a never-ending battle, and the decision was made to move the lighthouse away from the sea.

The 3,200-year-old Statue of Ramesses II in Cairo was moved on 25 August 2006 from Ramses Square to a new museum site. The statue was slowly being damaged by pollution and was in an area where it was difficult for people to visit. The move of the statue, which measures 11 metres (36 ft) high and weighs around 83 tonnes (91 short tons) was broadcast live on Egyptian television. Transported whole on the back of two trucks, the statue had previously been cut into eight pieces when it was moved from its excavation site in the mid 1950s.^[5]

[edit] Reassembly moves

Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst purchased and attempted to relocate two Cistercian monasteries during his travels in Spain, but neither was completed during his lifetime. The first was built about 1141, and found abandoned by Hearst in 1925. He purchased the ruin and attempted to ship it to his home in California, San Simeon. The crates, however, were detained by customs officials in New York City, and due to his deteriorating finances during the Great Depression, Hearst was unable to complete the shipment. The stones were purchased in 1951 and reassembled in Florida as a tourist attraction. In 1964, the building was purchased by a local Episcopal diocese and restored to its original purpose as the Church of St. Bernard de Clairvaux.^[6]

Hearst's second attempt at relocating a monastery was in 1931, when he found the closed Santa Maria de Ovila Monastery, built around 1200. He purchased the structure, disassembled it, and successfully shipped it to San Francisco, but was unable to rebuild the monastery. Hearst eventually gave the stones to the city of San Francisco, where they sat for decades in Golden Gate Park. Eventually the stones were acquired by the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, CA, where they are currently being reconstructed.^[7]

In 1925 Richmonder Thomas C. Williams Jr. bought a Tudor manor House, Agecroft Hall which stood by the River Irwell in Pendlebury, England. The hall was dismantled, crated and transported to Richmond, Virginia where it was rebuilt as the centrepiece of a Tudor estate on the banks of the James River.^[8]

A model showing the relative positions of the Abu Simbel temples before and after their relocation in the 1960s.

Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser. In 1959 an international donations campaign to save the monuments of Nubia began: the southernmost relics of this ancient human civilisation were under threat from the rising waters of the Nile that were about to result from the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Later Abu Simbel temples were moved from Sudanese lands into Egyptian lands. The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples began in 1964, and cost US $80 million. Between 1964 and 1968, the entire site was cut into large blocks, dismantled and reassembled in a new location – 65 m higher and 200 m back from the river, in what many consider one of the greatest feats of archaeological engineering. Today, thousands of tourists visit the temples daily. Guarded convoys of buses and cars depart twice a day from Aswan, the nearest city. Many visitors also arrive by plane, at an airfield that was specially constructed for the temple complex.

The rebuilt London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona

On 18 April 1968, John Rennie's London Bridge (which had replaced the original bridge in 1831) was sold to the American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for the sum of $2,460,000. The bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and opened on 10 October 1971. Not all of the bridge was transported to America, as some was kept behind in lieu of tax duties. The version of London Bridge that was rebuilt at Lake Havasu consists of a concrete frame with stones from the old (but not the original) London Bridge used as cladding. It spans a canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centrepiece of a theme park in English style, complete with mock-Tudor shopping mall. The bridge has become one of Arizona's biggest tourist attractions.^[9]

The Old Wellington Inn and Sinclair's Oyster Bar in Shambles Square, Manchester England, two of Manchester's oldest buildings dating from the 16th century and 17th century respectively, have been moved twice. Originally sited on Manchester's marketplace, they were raised 4 feet 9 inches (1.4 m) when the area was refurbished as Shambles Square in the 1960s.^[10] They were in close proximity to the 1996 Manchester bombing and as part of the rebuilding of the area, they were taken apart and moved 100 m North to a position next to the Cathedral in the new Shambles Square.^[11]

[edit] Museum collections

Several museums incorporate historic buildings into their surroundings, with some dedicated to showing what life was like in previous centuries.

Museums that have transported and reconstructed old buildings and structures include:

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England; centered on a collection of buildings which had to be relocated from their original sites and restored, along with a fully functioning windmill, a 1940s prefab, and the UK national collection of telephone kiosks.
Beamish Museum, Stanley, County Durham, England; shows what life was like in a typical northern town in the early 20th century.
Black Country Living Museum, Dudley, West Midlands, England; forty-two separate displays, including houses, shops and public buildings rebuilt to create a single early 20th century street.
The Cloisters; a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of the European Middle Ages.
The Henry Ford, which contains many historically significant buildings from around the U.S. as well as a 17th century farm from Cotswold, England.
History Park at Kelley Park, San Jose, California, features historic city buildings which have been moved from their original locations. The History Park is an indoor/outdoor museum, arranged to replicate a small US town from the 19th century with both original and historically accurate recreations of architecturally significant buildings.
The St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff, Wales consists almost entirely of relocated buildings from across Wales, aiming to chronicle the lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people.

[edit] Reasons for moving a structure

There are several reasons why a structure may be moved. For example, a redevelopment, such as urban regeneration, could cause a relocation. Additionally, it has been purchased and the buyer wishes to move it, for reasons such as the scenery from the building. The owner might also sell the land that the building is on, but keeps the building.^[12]

Another reason for the relocation of a building is to preserve it for historic interest. An example of such preservation is the Lin-An Tai building in Taiwan. Such a move could be made because a building is in danger at its present location.^[13]