Old Avalon home is on the move to Cape May

Vintage Victorian houses typically aren’t on the move, but that’s exactly what happened this week. The house, which dates to 1896, had been one of the oldest homes in Avalon.

According to The Press of Atlantic City, the owner of the house, Adrienne Scharnikow, paid $1 for the house when it was going to be razed to build a bigger house. She had it taken apart and stored in Egg Harbor Township. She had spent summers as a youth in the house and didn’t want to see it destroyed.

Moving it turned out to be problematic as you might expect. Power lines, bridges, trees, and too-narrow roads all made the move slow going. The Press of Atlantic City describes the house as a “massive three story house” and reports that the typical speed while moving it was 20-25 mph. Only one story was moved (the floor with the wrap around porch) with the other two stories being moved at a separate time. The move required three escorts and a permit from the DOT; the escorts measured the roads on the route before attempting it. The first phase of the move was successful with the next two coming at an indeterminate time.

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