National Czech & Slovak Museum makes historic leap

Since mid-April, the National Czech and Slovak Museum has been moving from its flood damaged home to drier land. On Sunday, the 1,700 ton building slid over steel rails to reach a final resting spot on a new foundation high above the level of the historic 2008 flood.

“It's a nice, slow process,” said Expert House Movers President Joe Matyiko.

So slow, it's hard to tell if the building is even moving.

“You can't see it move. That's the thing that really gets me. You can't see it move,” said spectator Fran Cox.

But if you take a closer look at the steel beams…

“If you pick a point on the building, you'd have to watch that,” said Matyiko.

The weather hasn't always cooperated for crews moving the museum. But dry, sunny weather over the weekend made for a smooth transition.

“It's obviously been nice and humid the last few weeks,” said Matyiko.

Now it's up to heavy machinery to keep the process going. A hydraulic machine propels the building over the steel rails about five or six feet at a time. The building moved 12 feet in just about two and a half hours. And as it moves into place above the flood plain, this landmark lives on.

That's what the dozens of people watching on Sunday wanted to do - capture a bit of history.

“Now I want to try and get in once it's moved,” said Cox.

The final step in this historic move is to elevate the museum, remove the roll beams, and lower the building down on to its foundation.