SPOKANE, Wash. — The first of two historic houses was successfully relocated from Gonzaga University’s campus to Mt. Vernon Street on Spokane’s South Hill over the weekend, marking an unusual preservation effort that neighbors describe as both disruptive and fascinating.
Saul Breithaupt, owner of Spokane House Moving, has spent months coordinating the complex logistics of moving the structures, including removing the roof of one house to ensure it could fit under overpasses. The relocation costs exceed $20,000 per house, but Breithaupt said the expense is justified by the environmental and historical benefits.
“This is the purest form of recycling,” Breithaupt said. “You save the whole house. That’s tons of materials not going to the landfill. Also, it’s historical preservation. The house gets a new home and a new life in a nice neighborhood.”
The moved house currently sits without a roof on its new lot, requiring significant work before anyone is able to move in.
“It’s a lot cheaper to cut the roof off and replace it with a new roof than it is to pay the loan charge,” he said.
Carol McVicker, who lives across from the new house site, said the move has been both challenging and captivating for the neighborhood. The relocation required months of preparation that brought noise and dust to the area.
“I looked out and it was coming up the street,” McVicker said. “And it was so exciting to see a house in the middle of the street.”
The nighttime transport encountered complications when the house became stuck on a median, an incident McVicker captured on camera.
“Hey, there’s a house stuck in the middle of Freya,” she recalled.
Despite the disruptions, McVicker welcomes the historic houses as preferable alternatives to previously planned development. She said townhomes were originally proposed for the natural area adjacent to Lincoln Park.
“[The houses] seem to better fit the neighborhood rather than multi-story townhomes,” McVicker said.
The second house is scheduled for relocation in the coming weeks, though the exact timing has not been announced.
Gonzaga University has not yet responded to requests for comment about why the houses were relocated or what might replace them on campus.
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