In St. Paul there is more than one way to move. This house is being moved from the 300 block of Smith Avenue between W. 7th and Grand to 29 Douglas street, a few short but tricky blocks away.
smith house
The house is the last one on that side of Smith Avenue and there are only two left on the other side of the street. The houses that were there have been replaced with parking lots.
A home was on the lot at 29 Douglas street. It has either been demolished or will be soon. Several condemned houses have been demolished in what is now called “little Bohemia”, the neighborhood in between west 7th and 35E. Several were victims of absentee landlords and the housing market and maybe a little mortgage fraud here and there. It is hard to think of a house as a victim but they were torn down even though they didn’t do anything wrong.
Moving a house is not unheard of. There are several in the area that have been moved including my own. It traveled down the street and around the corner. One of the challenges in moving a house is clearing the way so that it can get through.
Houses are often moved at night when there is little traffic. The city has rules about having them brought up code. If you move a house that was built in the 1800’s a few feet it will have to be brought up to 2012 building code. That can be an even bigger challenge than moving it.
