A dramatic move on Seventh Street

The twelve-member crew of Expert House Movers carefully eased the 19th-century
Maisenbacher House into Seventh Street. east of the Springfield Clinic last
Saturday morning. Though the weather was cold and blustery, a crowd gathered to
watch the house move north on Seventh Street to its new home at Seventh and
Jackson sreets. It moved a block north on Saturday, then continued its voyage
Sunday, arriving at its new location just before 4 p.m.


For months the future of the Lincoln-era Maisenbacher House was unclear, as the
Springfield Clinic planned its expansion in the neighborhood, threatening the
house’s future. 


Recently a coalition of the City of Springfield, the Heritage Foundation of
Downtown Springfield, Inc., and the Springfield Clinic came together to fund
moving the house to 503 S. Seventh St., a property owned by Court and Karen
Conn, operators of The Inn at 835 on Second Street. The Conns razed the former
structure on the property on Seventh Street last week to accommodate the
Maisenbacher House.


The Maisenbacher House was a foot wider than Seventh Street itself, so the move
presented problems. And drama. Would the house ease past the tree in front of
the Townhouse at 718 S. 7th? No. Would it ease past the light pole on the
Clinic property? No. Would the crew be able to negotiate obstacles? Yes.


Trees along the five-block route had been trimmed earlier, but when the house
began its journey north, it was clear that trees needed to be pruned more
drastically to allow the advance of the historic home, which accounted for the
delays. Some residents along Seventh Street were unhappy about the
neighborhood-altering tree trimming. Some observers groused that city employees
would be paid double time to work on Sunday.


City trucks kept busy hauling away limbs all weekend. “The city has been so cooperative with this project,” Karen Conn said. 


The Expert crew had wrapped the 300-ton brick house with three half-inch steel
cables to stabilize it and jacked the house up on eight hydraulic eight-wheel
dollies for the five-block move north. Joe Matyiko “drove” the house from controls on the back side of the house. 


The premise of the moving operation was a low-tech “chain and a come-along,” according to John Matyiko, head of the operation. The Expert crew performed
like a disciplined marching band but without the “Pomp and Circumstance.” Employees James and Ken barked commands (“More, Joe!”) and used hand signals to the crew to make adjustments to the hydraulic rig.
The project was expertly choreographed.


John Matyiko, grandfather of the current John Matyiko, started Expert House
Movers 40 years ago in Virginia Beach, Va., and it remains a family business
today, with other branches in Defiance, Mo., and in Maryland. Four brothers and
cousins, plus Uncle Joe Matyiko, helped move the Maisenbacher House. The
business also has the distinction of moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in
North Carolina and is one of the premier building movers in the U.S. In 1998
the Expert crew also moved the historic Iles House from South Fifth Street to
its current home on South Seventh Street.


Court and Karen Conn hope to renovate the house for retail space for goods made
in Illinois. “It’s a perfect location, across from the Lincoln Home,” Court said. The house will sit on Jackson Street for several weeks until a
foundation can be laid on the site.

Ginny Lee of Springfield is a photojournalist.

This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2008.