STEVENS POINT – The 140-year-old Ludvig Peder Moen House is on the move Sept. 17, shutting down traffic on Main Street in Stevens Point and drawing onlookers as the historic house is relocated.
Located at 1656 Main St., the house will be moved from its location at the corner of Business 51/Division Street and Main Street to the property at 1641 Main St., across the street.
Westbound travelers on State 66/Main Street will see a short detour west of Division Street between Sept. 17-19 due to the historic home’s relocation.
Planned reconstruction of Business 51/Division Street in upcoming years will result in a widening of the right-of-way to create space for a right turn lane at the intersection. The wider right-of-way would have vehicles and pedestrians traveling as close as 10 feet to the home’s former footprint, which prompted the move. The house will serve as a single-family home in its new location.
Both the National and Wisconsin Register of Historic Places recognized the home as part of the Clark Street-Main Street Historic District in 2021 and 2019, respectively. The home’s architectural style is referred to as Second Empire style, featuring a mansard roof with a bellcast and a corner tower with a rounded roof, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The house’s architects were Olin and Calvert, who designed the house for Moen in 1885. Moen was born in Norway in 1858. He worked a variety of jobs before opening a general store and later he sold insurance. Moen lived in the home until his death in 1958, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Renovations were performed on the home in 1917, 1971 and 1987, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The address of the home before property renumbering was 840 Main St.
In early 2024, the owner of the involved properties sought a zoning change for 1665 Main St. and a combining of 1649 Main St. into the 1641 Main St. property. The two houses formerly located on 1641 and 1649 were razed to create space for the Moen House.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Why and how 140-year-old Moen House is on the move across Main Street in Stevens Point
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
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