>I didn't remember the mover's name for the GEM, but I saw the video.
>It's incredible that they can move such a large masonry structure with
>minimal damage, etc. I highly recommend their efforts, even if only
>indirectly observed (i.e. the video). Thanks.
International Chimney Co. of Buffalo, N.Y., and Expert House Movers of
Maryland, moved the Gem in the fall of 1997. It weighed in at 5.5 million
pounds -- the heaviest building to be moved on rubber dollies. That is,
until the Shubert Theatre was moved in February 1999, here in Minneapolis.
It weighed in at 5.8 million pounds. International Chimney and Expert
House Movers, along with Stubbs Moving of Orono, moved the Shubert a block
and a half to its new home on Hennepin Avenue (the Great White Way of the
Upper Midwest). For those of you that know me, the Shubert was the subject
of my M.S. thesis at Columbia. Although I am sad that the stagehouse was
torn down and the theatre had to be moved off of 7th Street, at least it is
being preserved. For more information on the move, check out:
http://www.startribune.com/shubert/
Or, you can contact me, and I'll go into a long and exciting oratory about
the the Minneapolis theatre district, the history of the Shuberts, the
Shubert Theatre, its architect, William Albert Swasey (who designed 5
theatres in NYC for the Shuberts, as well as 2 in St. Louis and 1 in
Philadelphia), or ... oops! there I go again ...
Barbara "Shubert" Mitchell
~~~~~~~ Shubert's my name and theatre preservation's my game...
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