By Jeff Lysiak
A journey of just over three miles took nearly 12 hours
to complete, but in the end, the Sanibel Historical Museum & Village
welcomed its latest addition with open arms. There were a few temporarily
relocated signs and light fixtures along the way.
Beginning at 10 p.m. on October 2, crews began the task
of moving the two-story Shore Haven house
– a Sears & Roebuck Honor Bilt kit home constructed
on Sanibel in 1924 – from a small plot of land on San Carlos Bay Drive, near the
end of Dixie Beach Boulevard. Workers from Flint & Doyle Structural Movers
transported Shore Haven slowly up Periwinkle Way through the night, finally
reaching the home’s new address on Dunlop Road in the wee hours of Wednesday
morning.
“Immediately, this becomes one of the highlights of the
museum,” said Alex Werner, president of the Sanibel Historical Museum &
Village, as Shore Haven was carefully moved across the parking lot adjacent to
BIG ARTS and the museum.
On September 28, the 1,500-square-foot structure was
moved by barge from its original location – a picturesque bayside lot on Bird
Lane – to an empty parcel two miles away with the assistance of
crews from Flint & Doyle as well as SteMic Marine Construction.
Once all of the logistics involved with moving the building
onto the Dunlop Road site had been finalized, which included coordinating electrical
and cable/Internet outages along the 3.25-mile route, Shore Haven joined the
nine historic structures – including the recently relocated Caretaker’s Cottage,
which housed AfricanAmerican workers employed at Shore Haven through the 1940s
– within the museum’s village.
According to museum manager Emilie Alfino, the Dutch
Colonial-style building will be used to
welcome guests, display artifacts, artwork and rotating
collections as well as provide additional storage for museum inventory. In
addition, it will allow the museum to host catered events.
“We are very excited because now we will be able to have
catered events on site,” said Alfino. “Every museum has one modern building
where people check-in, watch video presentations, something that is used as a
welcome facility. And now, we are going to have that.”
Shortly after 10 a.m. on October 3, Shore Haven squeezed
past the trees – and temporarily removed welcome signs for BIG ARTS and the
Sanibel Historical Museum & Village – at the entrance of the parking lot
off Dunlop Road. One of the museum’s light fixtures was taken down as the
building was carried to its final resting place, next to the 1913 Rutland House
on the eastern portion of the property.
While Shore Haven was donated to the museum, the total
costs involved with moving the historic structure are approximately $171,400.
By contrast, the expense of moving the two-room Caretaker’s Cottage last month
cost $21,000.
“Eugene Gavin, who is the authority of African-American
history on the islands, suggested that the Caretaker’s Cottage be moved here. I
have to give him credit for that,” said Werner. “Truly, it is our final
opportunity to preserve the history of the original black families who lived on
Sanibel.”
The foundations for both new buildings are expected to be
completed before the museum reopens to the public on Wednesday, November 7. For
additional information, visit www.sanibelmuseum.org.
Island Sun (October 12, 2012)
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