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Historic Capen House Makes its Voyage to the Polasek Museum  December 11th, 2013 | WMFE- Dozens of onlookers watched as the first half of the Capen House, built in 1885, made its way across Lake Osceola to its new home on the grounds of The Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park.
The house is being moved from its old location at Interlachen Avenue to the museum after public outcry over its possible demolition. Richard Traynor, a Winter Park resident, friend, and realtor for one of the former owners of the Capen House, watched as half of the historic home was loaded onto a barge. “Ah, you know, If it works, it works, I think the engineers know what they’re doing,” says Traynor. Moving the house hasn't been easy. The total cost of the project is estimated at $650,000, and the Polasek Museum still needs to raise another $120,000 to cover the cost of dismantling and moving the home. Transporting a roughly 5,000 square foot home by barge, over a lake, in two pieces may sound crazy. But historian Christine French, project director of Preservation Capen says it was the only option. “This idea seems outrageous at first, but it’s really quite practical. For us, the only alternative was to undergo this project or the house would be lost,” says French. After a delay to jack up a sunken wheel, the Capen House finally set sail. It was followed by a flotilla of small boats, jetskis and kayaks. News helicopters hovered overhead and even a couple drones buzzed by snapping pictures. About 20 minutes later, the house came ashore at the museum. Debbie Komanski, executive director of the museum, reflects on the journey. “It always seemed like, ‘we think we can, we think we can, we think we can’ but we actually did," says Komanski. The second half of the house should make the crossing later this month. |
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