The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-28
MOVING GREAT BLOCKS.
Remarkable Engineering Feats Now
in Progress in Chicago.

From the Chicago Times.
Brick buildings are3beiug spirited away.
/ To clear space for the Metropolitan Ele-
waited railroad seven heavy structures Of
brick and stone are now being raised, run
forward, whirled around, and inter
I changed as if Aladdin's lamp was opera
|stive still. Between Congress and Van
/ Buren, streets, across Peoria, SaugamOu,
/ Morgan, and the BOwery surveyors have
/ drawn q line straight as the birds fly,
J and L. p triestedt, the contractor, Is
/ Jostling brick blocks and buildings out Of
I the line Of fig. one structure, which
/ embraces Nos. 10, 10. II, 19 and 81 and
/ tips the beams at 1000 tons, is actually
/ being turned around in the vacant Let be-
/ tween Morgan street and the Bowery,
/ while six other buildings Of brick, four
in double structures of two houses each,
are being moved aside and iTterchanged
10 make room for the swinging of this
mammoth block.
HOW THE WORK IS DONE.
Although stupendous, the work is sim
pie. Holes are cut through the side walls
of the building Just beneath the lower
floor; through these, from side 10 side Of
the structure, 12x12 timbers are run, be-
meath which, from front to rear of the
building, two or three great timbers are
placed. The latter, raised by hundreds
Of jack screws, lift the building from its
foundation and then serve as runners,
upon which the structure slides over roll
ers TO its destination. These rollers,
when it is desired to turn q building, are
placed at the required angle, while pro-
polling power is also exerted in the direc-
ton desired. "Seven-foot rams furnish
the motive power. These are larger jack
screws which screw out seven feet. thus
showing the building that far forward.
About half an hour is required for this
advance Of seven feet. When a building
is being wheeled about the screw at the
end, which makes the greater outside
circuit, is screwed out two or three times
as fast as that at the other end, which
stands like pivot screws between are
projected with rapidity propOrtionate to
their distance from the end circling
round
To avoid any strain upon the building
as by pushing one end faster than the
other or allowing part of the structure to
run on lower roadbed than the rest, is
the great effort and art of the process.
Surveyors instruments are employed to
guide and test the laying of the beams
upon which the building rolls forward,
and also the application of the propetling
power. One hundred and ten thousand
dollars will be the charge for shifting the
buildings and relaying their foundations
Two thousand iackscrews are required to
do the lifting, while more than 100 men
are employed In the work Twenty
feet perday is the average speed attained
Only four weeks have yet been expended
on these seven structures, which embrace
fourteen residences. All the buildings
consist Of three stories, built of brick and
stone, with bay windows, pOrches, and
other irregularities of outline.
Spiritualistic table tipping is dis
counted in this tranquil transfer for com
mercial uses of %, 900 tons of cemented
brick, while that Egyptian uance is far
outclassed by this quadrille of the resi-
dence blocks.