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The saga of the Lake house is nearing
its end.
This week David Williams
Jr., president of Williams Custom
Building in Wake Forest, and his crew
are carefully cutting the 1920s
Craftsman-style bungalow in half,
removing the roof and saving everything
they can, including the dormer windows
and window panes.
That work should be
completed Friday, Gary Roth, president
and CEO of Capital Area Preservation,
said Wednesday.
“Then the first thing on
Tuesday morning Henry Bunn is going to
arrive and make the temporary move,”
Roth said. Bunn heads K.B. Bunn & Sons
in Zebulon and is an expert in moving
houses.
The house will be moved
about 250 feet north toward Stadium
Drive. “It will stay on that field where
all the work is going on but out of the
way,” Roth said. The work is
construction of Patterson Hall. The
house stands in the building’s
footprint.
Meanwhile, Roth and others
in the CAP Raleigh office will be
putting together all the drawings and
documents they need to get permits from
the town to move the house and to
prepare the lot on North College Street
where it will stand. When they have the
permits, they can clear the
partly-wooded lot, put in a foundation
and prepare for all the utilities.
“It’s been a lot bigger job
than anyone anticipated,” Roth said, but
added there is no down side because the
house will be a fitting addition to the
town’s historic area.
“I just want to say thanks
to the seminary and the town,” Roth
said.
Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary not only donated
the house to CAP but also pledged
$20,000 toward the move. The Wake Forest
Town Board pledged up to $20,000, the
costs of waiving permit fees and
providing manpower and equipment to move
power lines and trim trees for the move.
CAP estimates it needs
another $20,000 to cover the costs of
the cutting and move. I. Beverly Lake
Jr., the retired chief justice of the
North Carolina Supreme Court, has raised
a portion of that and is still
soliciting funds. Lake and his parents
lived in the house in the late 1930s and
early 1940s. The donations will allow
CAP to sell the house at an affordable
price in keeping with its neighborhood.
To contribute to the move,
call 833-6404 and tell CAP how much you
will pledge. |
