How Engineers moved 4 story Hotel

Be it the transportation of NASA spacecraft, or the need to carry the world’s largest oil rigs from one place to another, history has witnessed many transport operations that once seemed impossible.

But today, you are about to see the transportation of something that is not moved every day — a four-story hotel with 86 rooms.

Why did it become necessary to move this giant hotel?

How was this massive structure, weighing thousands of tons, separated from its foundation?

And how was it shifted safely from one place to another?

Once again, welcome .

Viewers, in the city of San Jose, this hotel was built in 1911 by Thomas S. Montgomery.

A few years before the hotel’s construction, the first railway station was established in San Jose, which contributed greatly to the city’s growing population.

Naturally, businessmen never wanted to miss opportunities where crowds and business activity were increasing — and Thomas S. Montgomery did exactly that.

He purchased a piece of land and built a luxurious hotel and restaurant called the Hotel Montgomery.

At the time, it was considered one of the most luxurious hotels of its era. It was built using the latest technology available then — concrete and steel construction.

Many facilities that are common in homes today were introduced early in the Montgomery Hotel, including blower fans, private bathtubs, private telephone lines for every room, and elevators on each floor for easy access.

Not only that, the management also provided a free bus service to transport guests between the railway station and the hotel.

You could call it the five-star hotel of its time, which is why it became extremely famous — so famous that it became one of the identities of San Jose.

With each passing year, the hotel became more successful. The period from the 1920s to the 1960s is considered the golden era of Hotel Montgomery.

However, after the 1960s, the hotel’s decline began.

As the population increased, many new hotels were built. Compared to these modern buildings, Montgomery’s design started to look outdated.

Competition among hotels and restaurants became so intense that the survival of Montgomery appeared impossible. Customers preferred newer hotels over the aging Montgomery Hotel.

Eventually, the management decided to shut the hotel down permanently.

By the 1980s and 1990s, downtown San Jose had almost no space left for constructing new hotels, while the number of visitors continued to grow.

In the 1990s, Montgomery looked like a deserted palace, while nearby modern five-star hotels remained crowded with guests.

Right beside Montgomery stood the Fairmont San Jose, a hotel with 535 rooms.

Despite having so many rooms, the hotel remained overbooked most of the time. Because of this, it wanted to expand — but there was no extra space available.

The only option was to purchase the Montgomery Hotel, demolish it, and build a new structure there. With this expansion, Fairmont planned to add another 400 rooms.

Therefore, in 1999, Fairmont purchased Hotel Montgomery and began preparations for demolition.

But as soon as the news spread, people came out onto the streets to protest.

They believed that although old, Montgomery was still an important symbol of San Jose. People argued that those who destroy their past cannot build a bright future.

At the same time, mayoral elections were approaching, and this issue became politically important.

Ron Gonzales, one of the election candidates, promised the people of San Jose that if he became mayor, he would never allow Montgomery to be demolished.

Ron Gonzales won the election and became mayor — and now it was time to fulfill his promise.

On one side, Fairmont wanted expansion. On the other, preserving this historic building was equally important.

The mayor consulted many experts, but no practical solution appeared possible.

Then, a team of architects proposed a remarkable idea: move the Montgomery Hotel to another location without damaging it.

At first, the idea sounded ridiculous because buildings are not moved every day.

But the mayor loved the idea and approved a budget of $12.5 million for the project. A team of experts was assembled immediately.

According to estimates, the building weighed more than 4,500 tons — equal to the weight of about 25 Boeing 747 airplanes or nearly 750 African elephants.

Lifting such weight was already difficult, but separating the building from its foundation and relocating it safely was an entirely different challenge — something never attempted on this scale before.

Another issue was deciding where the building would be placed.

Fortunately, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency owned an empty plot only 180 feet away from the hotel.

It was decided that Montgomery would be shifted exactly 180 feet while keeping both the structure and interior completely safe.

In the year 2000, work on this seemingly impossible task finally began.

First, the decorative false ceilings were carefully removed and preserved.

Historic mosaic tiles carrying the Montgomery name were cut into squares to protect them from damage.

All original woodwork from that era was also preserved carefully.

Once the antiques had been secured, engineers began researching the building’s structure.

The condition of beams and columns was inspected, precise measurements were taken, and underground gas pipelines were removed carefully.

After completing the research, experts faced another unique challenge.

Normally, when constructing a building, the foundation is built first and the structure is erected afterward.

But in this case, the structure already existed — only the new foundation needed to be built.

The challenge was constructing a foundation that matched the exact alignment of the building’s columns. Even a difference of a single millimeter could have caused disaster.

After precise measurements were completed, a special foundation was built at the new site.

Hotel Montgomery was about to become one of the first major historic buildings ever moved practically intact to another location.

With preservation and research complete, and the new foundation ready, everyone waited for the big moment.

To move the 4,500-ton structure, eight specially computerized hydraulic jacks with wheels underneath were brought in.

These jacks were installed beneath the hotel’s ground floor, and about 80% of the building’s weight was transferred onto them.

Once the jacks successfully carried most of the load, workers carefully cut away all the supporting pillars one by one.

At that point, 100% of the building’s weight rested on the jacks.

The hotel was now ready to move.

Half the town gathered to witness the historic event, while the rest watched live on television.

Finally, the massive building slowly began moving toward its new location.

And after just 15 minutes, the hotel safely reached its destination.

The entire town celebrated the successful operation.

For the next two years, renovation work continued on Hotel Montgomery.

Finally, in 2002, the hotel reopened.

In total, the transportation and renovation project cost around $26 million.

Even today, the historic hotel still operates in San Jose under the name Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown and is managed by Marriott International

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I hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for your love and support.

We’ll meet again in another amazing story.