From My View -- the Kiggins House

NOTE:

2008-08-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

Because of several things, including an accident I was in about a week and a half ago, I am way behind in posting my entries about the Kiggins House re-model. I have decided to start with the latest photos I have and go back and fill in what I didn't get up since the house was lowered AFTER THAT. Eventually, it will all be in order again. I will try to get that on ASAP. It will be at another site. Go here" Kiggins House Remodel

July 12, 2008 Kiggins update THE BIG DAY!!!!!!!! (part 4)

2008-07-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well, the house is on the foundation and the beams have settled into the window wells and they still haven't removed them. It's been a long day that isn't over yet.

Wooden posts are put in place to hold the end of the house that extends beyond the garage walls.

Still no beam removal!

July 12, 2008 Kiggins update THE BIG DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! (Part 3)

2008-07-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

While I was watching patiently and strolling around the house to capture photos of the work being done in preparation for the beams to be pulled out, I saw a truck drive up, park on the street, and move this equipment off. Surely, it was there to move the beams?

I have no idea what this was all about -- seems as soon as the "pole" was erected, he took it down again and left. . .

The house is on the foundation!!!!!!!!!!!!

The two pillars that wil hold the porch roof are placed in the metal structure put up earlier by Bruce.

July 12, 2008 Kiggins update THE BIG DAY!!!!!!!! (Part 2)

2008-07-12T14:15:00.000-07:00

The myriad of photos that follow show the compressors being installed and hooked to the computerized machine to lower the house slowly, bit by bit.

July 12, 2008 Kiggins update THE BIG DAY!!!!!!!! (part 1)

2008-07-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

Finally, it was the day for the big beams to be removed and I was ready. I took over 100 photos so have decided to make a "quilt" of some and leave others big so you can click on and enlarge. I stayed around there all day because I didn't want to miss a thing!

I arrived bright and early and took photos all around so I could compare before and after beam removal so this is what it looked like upon my arrival:

The beams are still there so I have not missed the big event! The moving company had been delayed in removing the beams because of FEMA work they were doing in other parts of Washington state.

Close up of the beams in the front of the house that are to be removed today.

Another view

The retaining wall to separate the park and the end of the street behind the house is built.

Close-up of the retaining wall that leads to the stairway on the side of the house.

The heavy equipment . . .

and high tech equipment arrive!
(The collage will enlarge a little but it is 25 percent of originals to conserve room on this blog entry.)

The computerized beam removal truck is open now and compressors are being hooked to areas under the house so that the beams can slide out and the house rest on stacks of wood beam pallets.

Bruce gets the areas ready to place the pillars to support the porch roof so that the blocks of wood can be removed before the beams are pulled out.

The metal supports for the pillars are installed.

July 9, 2008 Kiggins Update

2008-07-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Not sure what is happening so just took photos all around.

July 8, 2008 Update for Kiggins House

2008-07-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

I see they are busy working but I have no idea on what. Couldn't stick around to find out.

July 5, 2008 Update for Kiggins House

2008-07-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

Didn't find anyone working today when I got there but took some photos anyway because I can see some improvements were done on the days I didn't make it over here.

The front is leveled out and the big equipment gone.

There are layers of lumber on top of the foundation wall and strips of metal hanging down.

Those metal strips go all around the house on the foundation/basement/garage wall.

I see they are working on the retaining wall to separate their home from the park next door.

July 1, 2008 Kiggins House update -- Lumber delivery

2008-07-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't see a whole lot happening when I arrived so just took a few photos around the perimeter of the house. Then Mrs. Wood invited me to come on the side of the house to see something. . .

She told me to come up closer to watch the "lumber dump" because it was pretty neat how they did it so I did. Alnost wish I had a movie camera for this. Actually, my camera will make a short movie if I put it on the right dial but I didn't have time to even think about that and those U tube movies don't work well on my computer anyway. . . After the truck loosens the straps it has on the lumber, the driver just pulls away and leaves . . . and the wood falls on a pile on the ground.

Kiggins Update June 29, 2008

2008-06-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

I reckon the most noticeable thing happening here today is that the dirt is getting placed next to the foundation.

Friday update -- Kiggins House

2008-06-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Walked over to the Kiggins house project around noon today and this is what I saw: two men in machines (graders) were moving the dirt back and leveling it off with the basement windows. From the front of the house, the basement garage is not going to be visible. Of course, there will be the basement windows but not sure whether they will cover the concrete with some building material or not. Mr. Wood said they will build a porch again tho so most likely the basement/garage will not be visible from the front . . . but I will jsut have to wait and see.

This shot is from 24th St., looking down the public street/alleyway that will be the garage/basement entrance.

Wednesday update -- Kiggins Hosue

2008-06-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

The only thing "new" I could see was the plastic tarps put along side the bottom of the foundation walls on the sides. I have no idea what they are for or if they are temporary.

Kiggins House Update -- June 23, 2008

2008-06-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot going on today. Saw Mr. Wood and his helper placing 2 x 4's on the foundation ledges. . . two side by side. They had little pieces cut out so they connected, probably for stability.

On the side of the house, another man was collecting the metal pieces that were thrown on the dirt pile. I don't know if the rest of the dirt will go back in before the beams are removed or what. I know there was a delay in the movers being able to move the beams because of other commitments-- Mr. Wood said something about mid July. . .

I know these photos aren't too exciting but its all part of the process involved when you move house to a new location and then remodel.

Friday update -- June 20th 2008

2008-06-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wood told me that he puts these white sheets of a foam like board on the basement so that when the dirt gets pushed against it, it will not affect the foundation.

June 18th -- Kiggins House update

2008-06-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Reading over my recent posts, I see that they laid the foundation yesterday , not removed the steel beams as I was told. . . It was exciting anyway so that is no big deal that it didn't happen. I did get to watch the foundation being poured with that extraordinary tool.

I decided to go down this afternoon and investigate anything new and was met with visibly seeing the cement walls of the foundation! I missed them taking it off but here is the evidence: a big stack of boards!

Today, they were painting a black substance on the foundation walls outside. Since I am not familiar with what it is actually called, my readers will just have to use their imaginations when you see the photos. (I found out it is a sealer so wter doesn't get into the basement.)

I also noticed a little opening in the roof but have no explanation for it. . .

I wonder how long it will be before they remove those steel beams?. I hope I don't miss i!

Foundation Building at Kiggins House Today

2008-06-17T23:17:00.002-07:00

Mr. Wood told me on Monday that they would be working on the foundation cement today at 10:00 AM so I headed over there shortly after 9:30 and arrived to see the men still working on final touches of the boards that will form the cement walls for the basement.

By time as I walked around the house, the special truck with its "arm" arrived and I watched it unfurl. I had never seen anything like that in my lifetime.

When the cement mixer brought the wet cement, it was transferred to this contraption.

The first truck with the moveable arm got into place manipulated by a computer I bet. . .

A man held it like a hose pouring out wet cement. He has to be very agile, the way he was jumping from one place to another. It was kinda neat how they stopped the flow of wet cement with this white band holding the "hose" in a bent up position so nothing could run through it until he could get in position again. I watched him go around two sides of the Kiggins house, filling the wooden forms with cement and watching the arm from that special vehicle reach over the roof and down the edges. I was fascinated!

Then, Mrs Wood came over and started talking to me about the re-model and she invited me to see her present home which her husband had also remodeled. (I have now had the pleasure of meeting both Mr. and Mrs. Wood!)

I thought I had died and gone to heaven again! She was a most gracious tour guide, explaining which parts of the house were original and what they added and how they furnished it. It is a beautiful place and I can't believe they are going to sell it but I guess maybe I would too if I could also live in the former Kiggins historical home!

She also showed me photos of other restorations her husband had accomplished and I remembered where only one was located. I decided to go over to 20th and I street and have a look. If that was the correct place, I found a smaller home that looked beautiful from the outside. I am going to put its photo here also. If I have the wrong house, I will correct it.

I am going to have to write down the rest of the places Mr. Wood has remodeled and go on a special walk to see them all!

June 16th Kiggins House update

2008-06-16T23:45:00.000-07:00

The house is almost ready to be lowered to the height it will remain at. How do I know?

Well, it's a long story but I will try to make it shorter. Because the sun spots ruined some of my photos yesterday, I decided to go back today and get a few. When I arrived, I saw several workmen, including one climbing around the boards he was framing the basement with. See his legs in the first photo?

Then, I walked around to the front of the house and took a few more. . .

Finally, I walked back to the park side and took another look. I could see some white framed window panes on the ground near the back of the house and I was curious so I decided to walk around to 24th St. and take another look. I took one photo and was about to leave when a gentleman approached me from the driveway of the house in front of the Kiggins home and asked if I "was Paulie."

My heart said, "ohoh . . . would he ask me to stop taking photos and leave?" But that didn't happen at all! I was so relieved! This nice man introduced himself as Bruce Wood. We got to talking and he said he had seen my blog and thought I was doing a nice job with it. I was feeling better all the time! Then, I mentioned that a lady in the office across the street first commented on my blog and then his sister in law from Australia left one also. So, I knew that they knew about my blog about the Kiggins house. He hadn't seen the comments from these two and said that and said he would go back to look.

(He also said that he liked some of my other photography and he mentioned my Math Cloud photo! Ü )

OK back to the house. . .

I asked him about why the wood was cut off of some of the windows and found out it was to get some circulation in the house. Until it gets on the foundation, the boards can't be removed from the house. When questioned about the white framed window panes sitting on the ground, he said they were in the basement of the Kiggins house when he was preparing it to be moved so he just kept them and will use them in another project. He explained to me how the house was too long and would be hanging in the city street (it's a dead end street) and that he would have to shorten the house. He said it was the stairwell that someone built onto the house when it became office space -- done for fire safety regulations. Only then did I realize that the little "rectangle" in the back was added on -- noticeable at the roof line if one knew to look. He said he didn't need that staircase in a private home and would take it off and fix the roof and trim accordingly.

When I told him that I didn't know about the addition for the stairwell because I had never seen the inside of the house, he mentioned that he could give me a tour inside before he started working on it after it was on the basement securely. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! He said I was probably the only one who was interested in seeing the inside at this point in time before the remodel. . . I don't know about that but I can hardly wait! He also mentioned that there would be an Open House when it was complete. . . he hopes that will be by Christmas. His family and his parents will live there.

Then he told me the metal beams will be removed tomorrow at 10:00 AM in case I wanted to be there!!!!!!!!!! I am so grateful for this knowledge because I might not have gone over tomorrow since I have been there for the past couple days. Now, I can't sleep. Maybe that's a good thing because I had trouble all afternoon trying to load my photos to blogger and it wouldn't work until tonight.

June 14th Kiggins House update

2008-06-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

I try to go over to the new location as often as I can. I only live 5 blocks away. The photos I take might not be great but they show me the progress that is happening. Thus, I continue my journey blogging about it. These are a few more shots of the work needing to be accomplished before the house can be set down on a full 8 foot basement.

It's a door not windows! When the house was on Evergreen, it had a veranda over the door and it wasn't visible from the sidewalk/fence.

There are holes cut in the board that was over windows on this side also. I haven't learned why this is done yet. . .

June 13th update of Kiggins Move/Remodel

2008-06-13T22:02:00.001-07:00

Today, I have caught up on getting all the photos I had online moved to this blog. Oh yes, I have an update. . . but today was the first sunny day we have enjoyed all month and I didn't do so well avoiding sunspots on some of my photos. I have decided to post them anyway. I will just try to remember not to go when the sun is directly overhead next time.

I was very excited today to see different things happening at the Kiggins house/Bruce and Judy Wood's new home. The foundation is really progressing; the boards are quite high so maybe the house is going to have a full basement? For some reason, they cut two of the boards that had been covering windows and were working inside the house. Maybe it has something to do with the basement and connecting wires or something. Maybe they had to fix the problems cause by the thieves just before the big move. . . I have no idea.

I hope to go back tomorrow to learn more with my photos. Today, I happened to be nearby at Arnada Park because I was walking the Heritage Tree (Bike) Route I had gotten from Parks and Recreation Department on the WWW. I couldn't just walk past the house without a few more photos!

I will try to get more photos when the sun isn't directly overhead. That will be easy since it stays light so late now that summer is fast approaching. . .

From Arnada Park. . .

Kiggins update -- June 11th

2008-06-13T00:45:00.000-07:00

For lack of the proper name, the steel rods for the foundation are already placed!

June 9th Update on Kiggins House Restoration

2008-06-13T00:39:00.000-07:00

The foundation work is begun and sand is filling up the "boxed" in areas for the foundation.

Kiggins House View From the Corner of I-5 and 4th Plain

2008-06-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

Riding the 4th Plain bus home today, June 11, 2008, I could see the Kiggins House at this intersection and decided to go back and take photos of it. It is currently up on blocks of wood, waiting for the foundation. When it gets placed, I wonder if we will be able to see it from this spot anymore? I will check it again later. . . It is nice that there is shrubbery seperating the I-5 freeway on the east and Arnada Park/4th Plain on the North.

Week of June 8th -- Foundation Getting Ready

2008-06-13T00:23:00.000-07:00

Before they moved the Kiggins house, I wondered why they didn't have a foundation to place it on. Of course, I know nothing about this process so I just waited to see what would happen. It looks like they have a handle on it and don't need my intervention. Ü

The old Kiggins Lot. . .

2008-06-13T00:21:00.000-07:00

I went over to Evergreen Blvd. the first week of June to look at what was left of the Kiggins' property and this is what I found:
(CLICK on photos to enlarge.)

Really, the only thing that remains is the Kiggins heritage "spirit."

Placement Of House On Lot Gets Closer

2008-06-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

I try to get over there a couple times a week to note the progress. You can see the house is being moved into place a little at a time.

Updates from June

2008-06-13T00:07:00.000-07:00

I got some more photos today of the men working on the Kiggins house to get it into place. They have moved it off the slight hill and into the recesses. I will keep adding them here until I can get the whole story transferred to a new blog that I have decided to devote just to it to show progress on the re-model. Until I get to it, the updates will be here, such as todays:

As I approached the Kiggins House from the park side, this was the view that met my eyes.

A close up of the lumber that is holding the house in the air until it can be set on a foundation.

The photo is a little crooked but I was trying to catch the photo of the worker under the house to show that it is still up on the wooden blocks quite high.

A view a little further back to show the house had been lowered into the "hole" (lower level ground).

A little further back to show the relationship to the house next door --both are owned by the same family now. The house on the left was also remodeled by them and they live in it presently. They have it on the market to sell now and will live in the Kiggins House when it is finished being restored.

The two houses side by side view.

Going around the house on 24th St which is parallel to the park, you can see the placement of the Kiggins home behind the present house lived in by the buyers of the Kiggins House.

Move of Kiggins House on June 1. 2008

2008-06-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

June 6th -- MOVING DAY!

It was moving day and I just couldn't get myself out of bed. Finally, at 7:00 AM I dragged my body out and got dressed. I walked over to Evergreen and they had been at work for 2 hours already! The house was off the lot and into the street but not even 20 feet down the road yet. I patiently waited with others, camera in tow, as the tree trimmer moved from tree to tree cutting necessary branches off in order for the three story home to proceed down the street, around corners and to its final resting place 20 blocks away.

I got there just after they moved it off the lot and into the street. These three photos show what was left of the house area.

The truck with the Kiggins' House turns the first street corner, two blocks from original homestead.

The truck with the house has to wait for trees to be trimmed.

Can you see the tree trimmer climbing into the tree? He is a young man that has a safety rope around him and then he pulls up the power saw that is on the end of a rope separately.

Young men hauled the cut branches out of the street into parking lots where the tree shredder picked them up and cleaned up the streets after the house passed.

The power and cable company trucks were there also as some traffic lights had to be rotated and cable lines lowered to the street and boards placed over them so the tall house on the truck could go by. Then they lifted the cable lines again to their resting place on high poles and turned the traffic lights back into place, way above the street corners.

See those plastic tarps on the end of the truck holding the house? The young men spread them under the tires to make some of the tire maneuvering glide more easily.

I watched the slow process until it was time for me to catch a bus and go to church. When I left, they had moved down Evergreen to Broadway, two blocks down Broadway to C street,turned and went one block east, turned and went down hill to Mill Plain and crossed it That was 7 blocks of the journey of 20. It was 10:00 AM!

After church and some other errands, I went to the place I knew it would be if moving was finished and there it was, waiting to be placed on the cement basement that would have to be poured first. They had arrived by 2:00 PM the newspaper said. . .

This is the area behind another house that it will eventually be placed. The sand and gravel layer is poured and smoothed over.

This is the plot of land that it will reside on. The people that bought the old historical house will remodel it and live in it. They already restored the house in the front yard where it is going to be placed behind. The other side leads to a city park. It is only 5 blocks from where I live now. The same people already restored the old house pictured above and that will be in front of this one.

This is the garage that was left behind. I doubt that there would be room on the property for it and am not sure if it was a part of the historical 101 year old house. I will make weekly reports on the progress with pictures and captions.

Last time I went over there, the house was still there. I will go this afternoon and see if they moved it and take more photos if there is any progress.

LATEST UPDATE -- June 5, 2008
I did go by the place through the park and at the end of the park, this is what greeted me: More views of the house getting in place. Now I see that the front will be facing the grassy knoll with the freeway beyond to the east and the park to its left. The driveway on the west , which serves their current house, will probably be the driveway for this house which they plan to eventually live in. The big house on the lot was restored by this family; they live in it now and it is for sale presently.

View from the park.
Looking down into the "hole" where it will be placed.
View from the south.

Moving day is nearing. . .

2008-06-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

May 27, 2008 update from my other blog, PostcardsFromPaulie

This photo was taken from the internet and is from The Columbian newspaper.

A bond was passed and they will be building a new library in an older part of town, right across the street from The Academy built by Mother Joseph, a historical figure here in the northwest.

Before they can build the library, many older houses on the block need to be torn down but one is saved from the chopping block because it is on the national historical register. As the sign shows, it is over 100 years old!

The rest of these shots are of the work in progress of the move. They aren't great photos, partly because of the fence surrounding the house. It is marvelous to see it up on wooden pillars (for lack of proper name) and just sitting there. I don't know where it is going to be moved to -- just glad they are saving it. Vancouver has a history of saving historical buildings.
If you enlarge photos, you can see the blocks of wood that have raised the house off its foundation.

This is a side view which doesn't include the garage -- a piece of the house lower "roofing" fell off and is just sitting there. I hope they can restore it. . .

This view is from across the street to the east. The garage is in this photo from across the street. It will NOT be saved.

This view is from the north.

OK, in reading on the internet from The Columbian newspaper, I have found out that the delay was because of having to remove parking meters and other obstructions for the move 20 blocks to a downtown neighborhood. A private family have bought it and plan to restore it. They presently live in a home next door to where it will be placed. The garage will not be moved but torn down. Also, thieves, looking for copper, broke into it this week and stole some items that will cost a lot to replace but will be done if they don't recover things like the fireplace mantle. Below are three articles from our local newspaper, The Columbian, if you want to read more detail:

The house retains a high degree of integrity. It is a 2.5 story, Craftsman style home with narrow wooden bevel siding, a painted metal tile roof and a front gable with Tudor false half-timbering set in stucco.

John P. Kiggins
The Kiggins House is significant primarily through its association with one of the most dynamic and successful entrepreneurs, public office-holders and local proponents of growth in Vancouver’s history. John Phillip Kiggins, after discharge from the Army at Fort Vancouver, launched numerous successful businesses, but he is best remembered for construction and operation of movie theaters, one of which remains in operation. He was also a guiding force in the early years of the Fort Vancouver Restoration Committee.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

*******************************************

Zachary Kaufman/The Columbian
Workers prepare the Kiggins House, built in 1907, for Sunday’s planned move to the Arnada neighborhood. The building is among six on East Evergreen Boulevard that will be moved or razed to make way for the multiple-use Riverwest development, to include the new Vancouver Community Library.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008
By HOWARD BUCK, Columbian staff writer
It will be a slow, cautious journey for the Kiggins House this Sunday.
Starting about 6 a.m., movers will haul the residence built by former Mayor John P. Kiggins from its 101-year perch on East Evergreen Boulevard to a waiting lot in the Arnada neighborhood at 24th and H streets.
Eager to receive the building, listed on the National Historic Register in 1995, are Bruce and Judith Wood, who plan to make it their home.
The move will cost $85,000 but excavation and remodeling will cost nearly triple that, Bruce Wood said. The couple previously refurbished a house in Shumway and their current home, which is next door to the new site.
A crew began Monday to unearth the old home’s foundation. By Friday the house should be settled on several large dollies, ready to roll.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” said Keith Settle, head of Scappoose, Ore.-based Northwest Structural Moving, which was hired for the job.
“I’ll know for sure, later in the week. But it looks promising,” Settle said.
Easing the two-and-a-half story home about 18 city blocks — west, then jogging north and east — should take four to six hours, he said.
There could be brief, localized power outages as utility crews lift or lower overhead lines from harm’s way, Settle said.
Motorists on the busy 15th Street-Mill Plain Boulevard couplet could run into several minutes’ delay while the home slides by.
The house’s removal signals tangible start of work on the $160 million Riverwest project, destined to cover four city blocks at the southeast corner of Evergreen and C Street.
A new, 90,000-square foot Vancouver Community Library will rise over a public underground parking garage, close to Evergreen Boulevard. The centerpiece library could be finished by 2011.
Riverwest also will include 200 condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, a 65-room hotel, a restaurant and an outdoor area with a fireplace.
It will be late autumn or early 2009 before significant excavation work begins.
By fall, developer Killian Pacific expects four vacated homes that front Evergreen to be razed, said Steve Burdick, the firm’s director of development. Buildings used by the Carr Auto Group, which moved to northeast Vancouver in April, also will be demolished.
An exception is the white-brick, one-story studio designed and used by noted Vancouver architect Day W. Hilborn. Negotiations continue to move it to a site at Markle Avenue and West Mill Plain Boulevard.
The studio would hold offices of the Southwest Washington Community Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that helps provide housing to low- to moderate-income families.
Settle, 37, who launched his moving business 17 years ago, said relocating the brick home would present no unusual challenge.
“It just takes a little more steel, a little more care,” Settle said. “We’ve actually moved unreinforced brick, three-or four-story office buildings. What we tell our customers is: ‘If it can be built, it can be moved,’ ” he said.
Precaution is necessary to navigate Vancouver’s downtown, however. “It’s trickier; the streets are narrow. There are more mature trees to deal with,” Settle said.
Built in 1907, the Kiggins House is a front-gabled structure with a detached two-car garage, which will be razed. A prominent real estate developer, Kiggins apparently lived in the home until his death in 1941, at age 72. The property remained under family ownership until it was sold in 1994. Most recently it was used as offices.
Settle said he’s unfazed by handling the historic home, which will stretch to 35 feet high while on the dollies. Last summer, his company moved the registered Ladd Carriage House in downtown Portland for safekeeping during a tower construction project.
“Actually, some of these older ones are easier to work with than newer buildings. They have better lumber, to start with,” he said. “The joists are all straight-grained. No knots. And full-dimension lumber.”
Full-dimension lumber?
A century ago, a 2x4 beam actually measured 2 inches by 4 inches, and so is stronger, still, than today’s slimmed-down version, he said.
Howard Buck can be reached at 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.

*****

Moving day pushed back for Kiggins House

Zachary Kaufman/The Columbian
Workers prepare the Kiggins House, built in 1907, for Sunday’s planned move to the Arnada neighborhood. The building is among six on East Evergreen Boulevard that will be moved or razed to make way for the multiple-use Riverwest development, to include the new Vancouver Community Library.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008
By HOWARD BUCK, Columbian staff writer
After 101 years, what’s another couple of weeks?
The company that will transport the historic Kiggins House through central Vancouver has pushed the moving date back two weeks, to Sunday, June 1.
More advance work is needed on route obstacles, said Northwest Structural Moving officials, following a consultation Monday evening.
Some curbside parking meters must be moved, and more tree trimming is in order.
The house was built in 1907 by former Vancouver Mayor John P. Kiggins. The residence at 411 E. Evergreen Boulevard is destined for a new home at 24th and H streets, in the Arnada neighborhood.
Eager to receive the building, listed on the National Historic Register in 1995, are Bruce and Judith Wood, who plan to make it their home.
The move will cost $85,000 but excavation and remodeling will cost nearly triple that, Bruce Wood said. The couple previously refurbished a house in Shumway and their current home, which is next door to the new site.
A crew began Monday to unearth the old home’s foundation.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” said Keith Settle, head of Scappoose, Ore.-based Northwest Structural Moving, which was hired for the job.
Easing the two-and-a-half story home about 18 city blocks — west, then jogging north and east — should take four to six hours, he said.
There could be brief, localized power outages as utility crews lift or lower overhead lines from harm’s way, Settle said.
Motorists on the busy 15th Street-Mill Plain Boulevard couplet could run into several minutes’ delay while the home slides by.
The house’s removal signals tangible start of work on the $160 million Riverwest project, destined to cover four city blocks at the southeast corner of Evergreen and C Street.
A new, 90,000-square foot Vancouver Community Library will rise over a public underground parking garage, close to Evergreen Boulevard. The centerpiece library could be finished by 2011.
Riverwest also will include 200 condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, a 65-room hotel, a restaurant and an outdoor area with a fireplace.
It will be late autumn or early 2009 before significant excavation work begins.
By fall, developer Killian Pacific expects four vacated homes that front Evergreen to be razed, said Steve Burdick, the firm’s director of development. Buildings used by the Carr Auto Group, which moved to northeast Vancouver in April, also will be demolished.
An exception is the white-brick, one-story studio designed and used by noted Vancouver architect Day W. Hilborn. Negotiations continue to move it to a site at Markle Avenue and West Mill Plain Boulevard.
The studio would hold offices of the Southwest Washington Community Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that helps provide housing to low- to moderate-income families.
Settle, 37, who launched his moving business 17 years ago, said relocating the brick home would present no unusual challenge.
“It just takes a little more steel, a little more care,” Settle said. “We’ve actually moved unreinforced brick, three-or four-story office buildings. What we tell our customers is: ‘If it can be built, it can be moved,’ ” he said.
Precaution is necessary to navigate Vancouver’s downtown, however. “It’s trickier; the streets are narrow. There are more mature trees to deal with,” Settle said.
Built in 1907, the Kiggins House is a front-gabled structure with a detached two-car garage, which will be razed. A prominent real estate developer, Kiggins apparently lived in the home until his death in 1941, at age 72. The property remained under family ownership until it was sold in 1994. Most recently it was used as offices.
Settle said he’s unfazed by handling the historic home, which will stretch to 35 feet high while on the dollies. Last summer, his company moved the registered Ladd Carriage House in downtown Portland for safekeeping during a tower construction project.
“Actually, some of these older ones are easier to work with than newer buildings. They have better lumber, to start with,” he said. “The joists are all straight-grained. No knots. And full-dimension lumber.”
Full-dimension lumber?
A century ago, a 2x4 beam actually measured 2 inches by 4 inches, and so is stronger, still, than today’s slimmed-down version, he said.
Howard Buck can be reached at 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.
*****
Kiggins House Hit By Thieves, Stripped of Metals

Source: The Columbian
Publication date: May 20, 2008
By John Branton, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
May 20--Metal thieves struck Sunday at the 101-year-old Kiggins House, built by a former Vancouver mayor, and ripped copper wiring from the home's walls and ceilings.
Bruce Wood, the owner of the house at 411 E. Evergreen Blvd., has been preparing to relocate it June 1, to a lot about a mile away in the Arnada neighborhood.
A moving company has excavated around the house and lifted it onto heavy steel beams for the move.
"I came here this morning at 8 o'clock and found the wood mantelpiece lying in the backyard," Wood said Monday.
The thieves, who may have been interrupted, left the mantelpiece but escaped with the fireplace door, made of brass-plated cast iron.
It's about 2 feet by 2 feet and depicts a standing angel, possibly holding a harp, with foliage behind her.
It may cost $20,000 to $30,000 to replace the jerked-out wiring, Wood said.
In response, Wood and his wife, Judith, spent Monday visiting antique and scrap metal buyers in the greater Portland area.
Old wiring might be tough to identify, but it's hoped someone will recognize the fireplace door.
The thieves "have no respect for history," said Bruce Wood, a former builder of new homes in Australia. "No respect for people's property. They'll make about $20 and do $20,000 damage."
Also stolen were a generator and tools.
Wood has won two Community Pride Design Awards for previous remodels of historic homes in Vancouver.
His current project is the 31/2-story house built in 1907 by John P. Kiggins, businessman and four-time mayor. When moved to 24th and H streets and remodeled, it will sit on a full basement and have eight bedrooms and five baths.
Including a moving fee of about $85,000, Wood expects the project to cost $300,000 or more.

The Kiggins House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It features high ceilings, dark woodwork and beveled-glass window panes.
It was built under the tenets of the American Craftsman style, which called for handmade homes and furnishings -- a reaction against assembly line products made in factories of the Industrial Revolution.
Such builders also stressed using local natural materials, and they used simple functional designs that were less ornate than Victorian styles of the time.
The house is being moved to make way for the $160 million Riverwest project, which will bring condos, office buildings, a hotel and restaurant and a new 90,000-square-foot Vancouver Community Library to a four-block area at Evergreen Boulevard and C Street.
Police detectives in Vancouver and Portland have told The Columbian that thieves, typically methamphetamine addicts, are stealing copper and other metals in Clark County and selling them in the Portland area.
That's because Oregon's law allows scrap buyers to pay cash on the day of the sale, police said.
Washington's law requires buyers to wait 10 days and mail sellers a check, a restriction that might discourage metal thieves, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Bruce Wood at 360-699-4429 or the Vancouver Police Department at 360-487-7400. Those who see metal thieves in action are asked to call 911.
John Branton covers crime and law enforcement. He can be reached at 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.

Checking on headway of move . . .

2008-06-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

I live uptown and the house is located downtown so it is easy for me to walk over and check the progress of the move. Boards are covering the side windows so that tree branches don't break them during the move. The wheels that will help pull this house 20 blocks are in place under the house. Can it be much longer?

Winter 2008 Arrives at Kiggins House

2008-06-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

The Kiggins Hosue winters the snowfall beautifully during its last winter on Evergreen Boulevard before its historic move.

Preface to a journey of the 101 year old Kiggins house

2008-06-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

Being a sentimental fool, I love historical places. I have admired this home since I moved to Vancouver in 1985. It was located on Evergreen Blvd., just across the street from The Academy which Mother Joseph built and ran. I am not sure many people walking or driving by noticed this older beautiful home because The Academy overshadowed it. Perhaps, pioneers to Vancouver appreciated its beauty in its heyday. . . recently it was just another rental with a historic plaque on the front of the house.

In 2008, it had to be moved to make room for a modern building expansion which will include a new library. (Four other houses and a car dealership will be razed.) Up for sale, the wonderful WOOD family saw the historical value of such a home and decided to purchase, restore and make it their personal home.

Below are a couple other views of this house.

From the west. . .

From the front across the street.