Site manager Steve Masiello, who stepped back to survey the house as it inched across the parking lot, said this job was relatively simple, as the house was in good repair. Only its chimney needed to be supported during the move.
Guiding the house down a massive ramp which dropped five feet was a more serious concern.
“We’re not only guided by experience, but also gut instinct,” said construction Project Manager Chris Semlies.
Residents watched the show unfold with a mixture of suspense and satisfaction.
Richard Silver, who has lived on Hammond Street for 25 years, said he is pleased that Palfrey House is finally settling down.
He anticipates a return to normal life, without the “noise, dust and construction” of the underground parking garage that has made his house vibrate off-and-on for over a year.
Lea Professor of Medieval History Thomas N. Bisson and his wife Carroll Bisson, a Lamont librarian, viewed Palfrey House from behind a metal fence. The couple has lived opposite the house for the last 17 years.
The Bissons said they were glad to see that it would remain a part of historic Cambridge.
Sean G. Palfrey Sr. and his wife Judith Palfrey, co-masters of Adams House, were offered a closer look at the move because Sean Palfrey’s great-great-grandfather built the house in 1831 as part of his 12-acre Hazlewood Estate. John G. Palfrey II was the first dean of Harvard Divinity School as well as a historian, U.S. Representative and influential abolitionist.
“I’d like to see Palfrey House a part of the community, with the streets that are a part of the family,” said Palfrey, whose birth name is in fact John Palfrey VI, noting that Hammond (the street to which the house was moved) was his great-great grandmother’s maiden name.
According to Alex Speier, a University spokesperson, Palfrey House will be restored and renovated for use by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the Cambridge Historical Commission.
Palfrey joked that he’d like to see the refurbished building annexed to Adams House.