MASON CITY – It was a perfect day to move a house – and watch it get moved – as folks lined up in East Park to catch a peek at the massive white Egloff House make a touchy trip over a bridge and up a hill.
Joining a swelling crowd along North Carolina Avenue on the sledding hill Thursday was Alliant Energy, police, fire officials, city staff, and big shots with the Chamber of Commerce, whose supposed non-profit “Community Betterment” worked with Atlas House Movers to get the Egloff house off of 7th Street NE and moved to its eventual home at the 300 block of East State Street.
There was a drone present, too, hovering above all the excitement. All that was missing was a hot dog stand, as folks brought their lawn chairs and settled in for a several hour spectacle in the bright sun and green grass.
NIT is told that turning the corner from 7th Street NE onto North Carolina Avenue, the house and the moving apparatus was briefly stuck in mud. Once it got going, it slowly made its way up to the bridge and the temporary support system that was installed to protect the bridge and the house as it passed over.
Gingerly, the Egloff house, surrounded by Atlas employees and others, inched its way over the Carolina Bridge. Folks got a little impatient a few times, asking what the hold up was. Others asked why no elected officials were there watching. Councilman John Lee eventually made it to the scene.
“This is neat. I’m just here as a spectator,” he told NIT.
Technicians made adjustments and moved boards from one end of the bridge to the other as the whole structure moved south. Finally, the Egloff House landed on the right end of the bridge safely, and folks began to pack up and move on.
The house had been split into two pieces to make the journey, and the other, smaller chunk was next up in line to cross the bridge.
The move the Egloff House is part of an effort to clean up the Cultural Crescent, which has been home to numerous ratty houses and suffered from a crime problem.
Posted by NorthIowaToday.com on Thursday, August 20, 2015
Egloff house move, August 20, 2015
Posted by NorthIowaToday.com on Thursday, August 20, 2015