For the first time in more than 45 years, a Victorian home is being relocated in San Francisco on Sunday.
The 1880 Italian-style house, which was once located in 807 Franklin, is dragging seven blocks to 635 Fulton on a remote-controlled hydraulic platform.
The morning had an almost celebratory feeling, with spectators cheering as the house moved inch by inch. Known as the Englander House, she started traveling south on Franklin Street to Golden Gate Ave around 7:20 am. She will turn right to go west to Laguna Street, making her final turn at Fulton, where she will be located next to an old morgue.
Some parking meters, street lights and power lines had to be removed in preparation for the trip.
The morgue on Fulton St. was previously moved about 12 feet towards the lot line to make room for Casa Englander. The two buildings will be combined into a new development, with 10 units built in the old mortuary building and Englander House converted into seven units.
The large 22 meter wide plot where Englander House once stood will now become the site of a new 47-unit apartment complex. This represents a total of 64 new housing units as a result of this historic change.
The over 5,000 square foot historic home was built in 1880 for Max Englander, who with his son Aaron owned a trailer company on Battery Street (horse-drawn was known as a trailer at the time). After Max’s death in 1891, Aaron continued the business and also lived in the house until his death in 1920.
While most Victorian houses were built in a temple style, this was designed by German architect Wildrich Winterhalter, who moved to San Francisco in 1869. He was best known for designing several large brick breweries for German customers. The house in England is one of the four houses designed by him still standing. “It was a house designed by an architect, no doubt,” said Ian Berke, the realtor who listed the house for sale in 2013. “There are all these luxurious details. Elaborate moldings, cornices, a stunning staircase and beautiful handrails. It is incredibly intact, even though it was in very bad shape. It is a great and important piece of architecture. “
The house ended up falling into ruins and, as the land was much larger than the house itself, the land ended up being more valuable than the structure. In the 1990s, it was purchased by a man who lived there until 2013, when he declared bankruptcy and the house changed hands for $ 2,650,000 for a developer who planned to build condos on the adjacent empty lot.
In the end, it made more sense to completely change the house.
Renderings of the Victorian house formerly at 807 Franklin Street, next to the old morgue on Fulton Street.
Kerman Morris Architects
Renderings of the proposed apartment building at 807 Franklin Street. It will have 48 new housing units for rent in an eight-story concrete structure. Sixty-four percent of the units will have two and three bedrooms, suitable for family life.
Kerman Morris ArchitectsToday, much of the house’s interior has been changed and the original features have been removed. When the change was announced, the San Francisco Historical Society made a presentation inside the house, which you can see in the video below.
Although this feat was not completed in more than 45 years, Franciscans used to move houses quite often. Due to the constant review of the sidewalks, streets and grid lines of the young city – and the fact that, unlike the brick houses on the East Coast, the redwood houses in San Francisco were relatively light – gigantic structures could be seen moving through the streets in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
It was so popular that it even became a big industry in the city. The 1900 edition of the city’s business directory lists no fewer than 19 companies offering their services to move your home to a new address. Over the years, obstacles such as telephone lines and existing infrastructure in the city have hindered the changes and the practice has become less common.
Still, this does not mean that it never happens. The historic Lathrop House in Redwood City was moved to its third address, 701 Hamilton St., in 2019 to make way for an office building.
While this house was moved mechanically, San Francisco houses used to be relocated by horses. The house would be erected and placed on greased beams. As the house progressed, workers took the planks and moorings left behind and rebuilt the tracks in front of the house. A capstan, or drum, was placed in the middle of the street and connected by means of a pulley to a huge crossbeam in the structure. The two horses circled the drum, rolling the pulley, slowly pulling the house down the street.
Preparation for the Englander home move began in 2019 and was scheduled for January 17, 2021, but has been delayed due to the weather.
The San Francisco Historical Society has documented all parts of the change and will be releasing the films as soon as they are ready.
SFGATE Editor Andrew Chamings contributed to this report.