Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
LARGE HOUSE/SMALL LOT
LARGE HOUSE/SMALL LOT. In 1978 a relocated house threatened to end up in Grandview Avenue. In March, 1978 the house was moved from the site of construction on FINLEY HOSPITAL (THE) to the corner of Kaufmann and Grandview avenues. The problem arose when it became immediately apparent that the area excavated for the house on the side of a hill was vastly too small.
The ground on which the house was placed began to erode, the railroad ties used for blocking began settling, and the joists were cracking.
The owner charged the moving company arranged a poor excavating job. The excavating company, he reported, charged him three times the normal rate and the lending company holding the loan withdrew the mortgage because of the condition of the house and efforts to sell the property had been unsuccessful.
The house was later condemned and demolished.
In 2021, another house occupied a site at the corner far below where the house had been moved. The slanting ground to the north, which years ago might have become the driveway, is all that remains of one of the most unusual spectacular house moving stories in the history of the city.
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Source:
Freund, Bob, "City Worries House May 'Wind Up in Grandview,'" Telegraph Herald, October 3, 1978, p. 1