Packing your belongings and shifting them to a new location is a common part of the moving process. However, when a man in San Francisco relocated his entire house, porch and all, seven blocks away, he gave the phrase a whole new meaning.
After 139 years at 807 Franklin Street, the two-story Victorian edifice known as Englander House was placed onto enormous dollies and transferred to its new home on Fulton Street.
The transfer was negotiated by owner Tim Brown, a San Francisco real estate broker, in order to preserve the historic structure while developing the original site into a 48-unit apartment building. Brown paid $2.6 million for Englander House in 2013, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
He spent up to $400,000 moving it down the block, where he hopes to turn it into seven residential apartments. The minty green Victorian mansion was built in 1882 and has a total area of 5,170 square feet. It was moved around the corner from 807 Franklin Street to 635 Fulton Street at an average pace of 1 mile per hour for 0.06 mile.
The home began its journey downtown at 6.15 a.m., and more than 600 people gathered out to watch it. Despite the street parade vibe, the outing was far from a stroll in the park. To make room for the construction, street lights, parking meters, and electric cables had to be removed, and the owner had to get approximately 15 different permissions.
San Francisco has a lengthy history of home relocations, with horses pulling them down the street until automobiles and trucks took over.
This is the first time in more than 50 years that Englander House has been relocated. The event’s recordings and photos quickly went viral, as predicted. In the comments area, several others made jokes about the strange circumstance.
“Did they simply consider using balloons?” One of the men made a joke. with a still from the movie “It doesn’t appear to be going well here. Return it to its original position!” Said, another man.
“The Victorian ghost lady is so confused I bet,” said a third.