NORWAY — The foundation for the Gingerbread House has been poured and set.
The historic building is expected to be lowered onto the foundation within the next few weeks.
Henry Hudson, owner of Henry’s Concrete Construction in Harrison, said Friday that the job to set up the forms and pour the concrete has been completed. The next step will be to remove the panels and then lower the building down on the foundation after the steel beams that are holding it up are removed.
The house is 17 feet wide in the rear, 29 feet wide in the front and 88 feet long.
The historic building was moved up Main Street 950 feet to its new location by Butters Park at the western entrance to the National Historic downtown district in June. The site was then prepared for the foundation by local excavator Scott Roberts, but Hudson said a big workload prevented him from coming to the site immediately.
After the foundation is in place, Pat Shearman of the Friends of the Gingerbread House said the bricks from the old foundation will be used to face the more modern foundation.
Once the house is stabilized, Shearman said the group will concentrate on procuring a preservation plan that will provide a guide for the step-by-step restoration.
Originally known as the Evans-Cummings House, the Gingerbread House and its octagonal tower has graced the entrance to Norway from the north since 1851.
The house’s builder was Richard Evans, who was considered an important contractor who also built the Nash house on Pleasant Street in Norway and the passenger railroad station at South Paris.
C’s Inc., which is a real estate holding company affiliated with Sun Media Group, publishers of the Sun Journal and Advertiser-Democrat, agreed late in 2008 to delay demolition of the 1851 historic home if anyone could successfully figure out a way to move the massive house off-site.
While the work continues on the building, Friends of the Gingerbread House also continue to raise money to keep that effort going.
Donations may be sent to Friends of the Gingerbread House, P.O. Box 525, Norway, ME 04268.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
-
- Henry Hudson, owner of Henry’s Concrete Construction in Harrison, completed the foundation work on the Gingerbread House on Main Street in Norway on Friday.
-
- Jelli, a 6-year-old Springer spaniel, took a protective stance by the Gingerbread House as her owner, Henry Hudson, of Henry’s Concrete Construction in Harrison, completed the foundation work Friday on the Main Street house.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.