From Pittsburg
Dispatch, 14 August 1921.
One of the biggest jobs ever attempted by any house
moving company is nearing completion. The job is the moving and raising
of Saint Nicholas Polish Catholic Church in East Ohio street, North Side. The
parish house connected with the church, the residence of Rev. J. Duic,
rector of the church, is also being raised and moved by the local
company. The work on the two edifices, being done by the John Eichleay,
Jr. Company, with principal offices in this city, was started last April.
Twenty-two carloads of working material was shipped to the church and
was used in the raising and moving of the large building. On June 23 the
raising and moving was completed, while at present the only work required
on the two buildings is the placing of steel bars across the foundation
of the buildings and the interior work.
One of the hardest parts of the Saint Nicholas Church job was the fact that the large building is hollow throughout the inside, and because of this fact, extreme care had to be taken in arranging the blocks used in the operations of the workmen. The church edifice was raised 8 feet 6 inches and then moved back from the street 20 feet. The reason for the raising and moving was because of the widening of East Ohio street from Heinz's factory to the city line, near Millvale. All buildings along East Ohio street within these two points had either to be moved back or torn down. Most of the residences were torn down while the church and parish house were moved back from the city line. The front yard and entrance to the Duquesne Public Grade School were moved to comply with the street widening.
A feature of the moving and raising of the church was the fact that weddings and church services were not interrupted during the operations. This job is said to be even bigger than the moving of the Woodwell Building, Second avenue and Grant street, last spring. The weight of Saint Nicholas Church, which is said to exceed 3,800 tons, was another big item in the moving and raising program. J. C. Walters, superintendent of the Saint Nicholas Church job, stated yesterday that he expected to finish his work in eight weeks. Another remarkable feature of the work is that no injuries or deaths occurred in moving and raising the edifice.
"East Ohio street will be one of the finest roadways through the city
at the completion of the widening and raising process," said J. A. Corr
of the Bureau of Water, in charge of the raising of the big water main
on East Ohio street yesterday.
The street will have a total width of 56 feet at the completion of the
work, which was started in March, 1920. A 10-foot sidewalk on one side of
the street and a high receeding wall are two of the improvements which
are expected to be finished within a year. East Ohio street is the main
thoroughfare for residents living in Millvale, Etna and points on the
Butler Short Line.
