The Shubert Theater made the trip from Block E to its new home on Hennepin Avenue over 12 days in February 1999. At 5.8 million pounds, it is the heaviest building ever moved on rubber tires.
In preparation for the move, work crews razed the old stage house and reinforced the building’s sidewalls with trusses.
Next they cut 100 holes in the foundation walls about four feet above ground level and inserted 26 steel beams weighing 500,000 pounds through the holes.
A total of 121 hydraulic jacks were then slid beneath the beams and used to lift the building off its foundation, a process called “cracking.”
Once the Shubert had been lifted high enough, about seven feet up, the movers installed 70 dollies, each the size of a Volkswagen Beetle chassis, under the structure. Each dolly had eight truck tires and a capacity of 50 tons; about a third of the dollies were motorized to power the move.
Too large to be moved on city streets, fortunately, the shortest route took
the Shubert Theater across parking lots.
After rotating the building 90 degrees, work crews moved it across Sixth Street
on a temporary road of sand and gravel. The potentially problematic crossing
went off smoothly — and so did the rest of the move.
Several more slight turns were needed before the Shubert reached its final destination and was gently lowered into place onto its new foundation.
The journey begins (complete video)
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7