Lincoln Park Walk-Up

The Hendricks family were leaving a third-floor walk-up in Lincoln Park for a house in Evanston. The goal was simple: one day, no damage, beds set up before the kids’ bedtime.

The stair had two tight turns and a low ceiling at the landing, and the sofa had been brought in through a window twelve years earlier. The street also had no loading zone on a Saturday.

• Survey: We measured the stair and the sofa on a video call and planned to hoist it from the balcony.
• Permits: We applied for two no-parking signs from the city ten days before the move.
• Crew: Four movers, a 26 ft truck and a rope hoist, with padded banisters on every landing.

The truck was loaded by 1 PM and unloaded by 5:30. The sofa came down by rope in eleven minutes. The family had the beds made and pizza ordered before seven.