KIRKWOOD • Residents here have rallied many
times to prevent the razing of historic buildings, but now there’s
a circa-1880 house that’s being raised — literally.

The white frame house with gingerbread trim, a bay window and a
front porch appears to passers-by to be dangling in mid-air in the
300 block of West Adams Avenue.

Actually, this designated Kirkwood landmark — one of Kirkwood’s
original homes — is resting on steel support beams more than six
feet off the ground.

The owners, Christina and Sean Barnett, are having a new
foundation and basement installed. The job is in the hands of St.
Louis-based Expert House Movers. The project, which will cost just
under $50,000, started Jan. 11 and is expected to last several more
weeks.

Expert House Movers used 16 hydraulic jacks to simultaneously
lift the 1,800-square-foot structure.

The house, which had foundation problems, has been in Sean
Barnett’s family since his father, Dr. Julian Harold Barnett,
bought it for Dr. Barnett’s mother in the 1950s. Both the Barnetts
work at the Boeing Co., Sean as an engineer and Christina as a
production manager.

“I’ve got a lot of emotion tied to the house, all those memories
knowing it was my grandmother’s house where I spent a lot of time,”
said Sean Barnett, 55.

The home originally was called the George C. Hammond House,
according to Kirkwood historians. Hammond bought the land for
$1,500 in 1878 and the house probably went up shortly after. Its
style is Queen Anne Victorian.

“This is our way of giving back to the community — by preserving
a bit of the history of Kirkwood,” Sean Barnett added.

The house still has some of the original moulding and woodwork
inside.

Expert House Movers has relocated or lifted hundreds of homes
and commercial buildings around the country. One of its moves was
the Cape Hatteras, N.C., light house. The first step for the
foundation team was to excavate the base of the house and expose
the stone foundation.

Next the team made incisions in the base of the house and put
beams in place to connect with the hydraulic jacks to lift the
house. When the job is done, the foundation will be about six feet
below ground and three feet above.

Expert House Movers was founded in Virginia Beach, Va., and is
now based in St. Louis. It has been in one family for four
generations. Joe Matyiko is president and works closely with his
brothers, John and Frank, in operating it.

Joe Matyiko said his company has raised or relocated probably a
dozen houses in Kirkwood over the years, including the one
immediately east of the Barnett house.

“Everybody is pulling over on the street to stop and gawk,” said
Meghan Larkin, 34, who lives just west of the Barnetts with her
family. Some people are getting out and snapping photos.

Larkin is good-natured about the traffic jams.

“It’s a family house and clearly it’s very important to Sean or
he wouldn’t be paying for all this work and repair,” Larkin
said.

Larkin’s 5-year-old daughter said she was enjoying all the
excitement.