Capen House completes its move

Winter Park residents and historic preservationists alike rejoiced Dec. 19 as the second half of the 128-year-old Capen House safely made the journey across Lake Osceola to the grounds of the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden, bringing the museum’s vision of giving the home new life closer to reality.

“This has been like a wild rollercoaster for six months now,” said Debbie Komanski, executive director of the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden. “Before that it was something that nobody would have ever even thought of.”

“We have tremendous community pride in achieving this.”

The first half of the Capen House that floated across the lake on Dec. 10 now sits in the Polasek Museum parking lot, waiting to be placed on its new foundation with the second half.

But the relocation project still needs funding to put the home back together. The community needs to raise between $120,000 and $130,000 before the Capen House is home free, Komanski said.

“We know we still have a marathon ahead of us to really complete the project,” she said.