By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Monday, February 26, 2007 12:00 am
Dawn had hardly arrived and the sharp wind and drizzle were keeping most early risers indoors, but A Street was bustling at 6:30 a.m., with yellow-clad workers providing the only burst of sunshine to be seen.
A small crowd of umbrella-wielding observers stood on the muddy road just beyond the Oregon State University Pride Center, watching the light yellow house next door as it said its final goodbyes to the neighborhood.
The Godard House was built in 1925 in the Prairie style, with low, sloping roof, side porch and elegantly segmented casement windows. The house and land was donated to the OSU Foundation, and plans for a parking lot on the property meant that the Godard House needed to find a new home.
Because of some interior damage, OSU decided to demolish the building, and scheduled it to become part of a practice burn for the Corvallis Fire Department. But local historic preservationists, including BA Beirle, heard about the home's destiny and hoped to find a way to save it.
"It's a really fine example of arts and crafts styling, and has really unique window arrangement," Beirle said, standing under a rainbow striped umbrella Sunday morning. "I don't know if I've seen a window arrangement like that anywhere in Corvallis."
Andrew and Claire Stivers have a large lot between Southwest Fifth and Sixth streets in downtown Corvallis, and had been planning on adding a home to the back of their property, which already contains one house.
"Moving an old home back there fits the neighborhood," Andrew Stivers said. "It's a historic district."
When Stivers heard about the availability of the Godard House, he approached OSU with the possibility of buying and removing it, rather than seeing it be destroyed. The university agreed to sell the house for $21, and Stivers said they have been easy to work with through the process, even when paperwork and code requirements added months to the timeline.
"OSU was very accommodating," he said.
He bought the house last July, but it wasn't until February that he was finally able to move it from the property. Putting an unusually sized house on a small lot wasn't easy, but he got a lot of support.
"The city worked really hard to make it happen," he said.
Stivers said most of the home's restoration work will be done by contractors. Despite some interior damage, including insect damage in the outside cripple wall, the home is relatively intact, including its hardwood floors and original plaster. He hoped the plaster would survive the move.
"Moving a historic structure is preservation of the last resort," Beirle said. "What concerns us when we move a structure is that the building will no longer be in its context. But because the move is so short and because its going to be with structures of approximately the same vintage it's about as smart a move as you can do with a historic structure. We're just really pleased."
Chris Schoap Movers was in charge of the move, and Qwest, PP&L and Comcast joined in to help move utility lines out of the way on the home's 12nblock journey to its new resting place. The move cost more than $30,000, Stivers said.
Dan Werner, network technician with Qwest, has seen a lot of homes moved in his last three decades on the job. The biggest project he was ever a part of was the removal a few years back of 10 homes on OSU property, just across the street from the Godard House.
"That was a tough one," he said.
Werner was pleased to see the home being saved, and said because of its diminutive size, approximately 22-feet-high, it would be fairly easy to move. He also said that Schoap was the right company for the job.
"He's the best in the business," he said. "He's very conscientious and safe."
Stivers said the house could be a rental home, or become a home for the couple's parents as they get older.
"I think what Andrew's doing is absolutely heroic," Beirle said, "and I'm grateful OSU has been a good partner with this project."
By late morning the house was parked just a few feet away from its new location, where it will be placed today. Other than some structural damage to the chimney, and a few blows from branches along the way, the house arrived in good shape.
Claire Stivers said their 2-year-old son Luke was particularly excited about the project. His current obsession is big trucks, and seeing the house on a set of wheels was quite intriguing.
"He kept saying 'Luke drive, Luke drive,'" Claire said.
Luke will get to watch the house move into its new location today, and Claire hopes he won't be disappointed that it's no longer going to be on wheels.
"On Tuesday," Claire laughed, "he's going to want us to move the house again."