Czech museum ends its move; elevation is next

Two weeks after the monumental move began, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, 30 16th Ave. SW, was finally positioned Tuesday in front of its new home.

Gary Rozek, who leads the museum board’s building committee, said the museum rolled into place about 7:30 p.m., covering nearly 70 feet since the afternoon and 480 feet from its original spot along the Cedar River.

“Yes, we finished and everything’s perfect,” he said.


The next phase involves removing the 40 dollies – 10 of which were hydraulic and powered the move- and elevating the building with jacks and cribbing.

Rozek said the museum will be lifted about 12 feet so the building can slide onto its new foundation  on top of a parking garage. That process could take another six to eight weeks.

Nearly daily downpours hampered progress by the movers, Jeremy Patterson Structural Moving & Shoring of Washington, Iowa, which started the relocation on June 8.

Here is the update from Monday:

Truckloads of rock were dumped Monday at the site of a monumental move – now heading into its 14th day – after rain again inundated the area.

Movers prepare the grounds to move the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library on Monday, June 20, 2011. (David Scrivner/SourceMedia Group News)The gravel replaced muck to allow the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library to continue on its move toward a new foundation.

On Saturday, Jeremy Patterson Structural Moving & Shoring of Washington, Iowa, pivoted the nearly 17,000-square-foot museum, so the side facing the Cedar River can become the front entrance.

Wheels were adjusted on Sunday to continue the move, but as has been the case since the relocation began on June 8, more rain pelted the site, leaving the road a mess, said museum spokeswoman Diana Baculis.

Baculis said the rocks were brought in to stabilize the road built for the move.

Workers hoped to move the building another 100 feet to position it in front of its new foundation on top of a parking garage, she said.

The crew connected a tow truck and a track hoe to steel beams supporting the building to provide extra traction, and the museum began moving about 4 p.m. Monday, five feet or so at a time.

Workers moved steel plates on the ground from the rear of the museum to the front to further stabilize the move.

The building progressed more than halfway to its new site before a hydraulic hose blew about 8 p.m., ending that day’s move. Weather permitting, the move will continue Tuesday.

Baculis said once the building is in place, it will be raised another 12 feet with 40 towers of cribbing – wood timbers – before it slides on top of the parking garage.

“That (cribbing) will take some time to put together,” she said. “It will be a slow process.”