Newton Tharp School and High School of Commerce

You are standing near a building with one of the most audacious relocation stories in American history. In 1913, the entire massive, three-story brick and steel Newton J. Tharp Commercial School was jacked up off its foundation and moved six blocks to make room for the city’s burgeoning Civic Center project. It took seven months to complete this journey, with steam-powered winches pulling the building across town at a pace that sometimes slowed to just one foot per day.