Preserving History: Buildings Demolished, Moved and Landmarked
Buildings in Motion
Because the District was sparsely settled well into the twentieth century, many fine old houses were moved onto the larger lots still available in the 1920s and 1930s, when the downtown area was being modernized and the University was expanding. “Demolition seemed to be the last resort for an unwanted or outdated building well into the 1940s. Buildings and building materials were too valuable to be casually destroyed and vacant land existed, so many buildings were moved or remodeled. Today a building on the move is a remarkable sight, but in the past it was quite common.”
--Quote is from Anthony Buffington Bruce‘s Forward to Berkeley Landmarks by Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny, BAHA, 2001.
Again In Motion
The Town Hall is once more under motion. The rain stopped the work when the building was on University Avenue, opposite Grove Street. Yesterday the men were employed in changing the skids and beams to take the building down Grove. This was done to avoid two turns. The building will be in position when it arrives at its destination. The hall is once more in motion today.
--Berkeley Daily Gazette, October 16, 1899