The Big Move - Tank House Relocated To Impossible Acres

The usually quiet early morning downtown streets of Davis were crowded with television trucks, and several dozen onlookers early Friday. They had turned out to watch the 140 year old Tank House hoisted by crane aboard two flat bed trucks as a rare summer fogbank rolled in. The tank house had been cut in half yesterday to facilitate the move. It was lifted by a 150 foot tall crane to avoid having to cut down several street trees.

Watching the tank house rise through the trees, Clyde and Katie Kelly, owners of Impossible Acres, the building's destination, were ecstatic. "I couldn't be happier that the move is going so smoothly," Katie Kelly said.

Steve Montgomery, owner of the moving company which handled the complex procedure said he and his crew try, if at all possible, to avoid leveling trees. "We were able to do it this time,  because the tank house is so solidly constructed we knew it wouldn't be a problem to pick it up," he said.

The convoy headed out B Street to Covell Boulevard and then rolled two miles west to Impossible Acres, followed by the television trucks and about a hundred carloads of curious onlookers.

Arriving at Impossible Acres, the tank house bottom half was set on rollers and gently coasted down off the flat bed trailer onto a new concrete foundation. The upper half will remain separate during restoration work. The whole Kelly family, including son Jonathan and  daughter Natalie, is going to pitch in and remove the old redwood siding, which had become permeated with dry rot. Much work needs to be done on the interior as well.

The tank house should be fully rehabbed by October 1, when the Kellys plan on holding a grand opening party. Eventually, the tank house will be restored to its original storage function, providing irrigation water for Impossible Acres crops. Also, it will be the centerpiece for an outdoor museum featuring antique agricultural equipment.  

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