 Hollingsworth and Coughlin took the contract and in November 1865 lifted not only the building but also the of stone sidewalk outside it.The complete mass of iron and masonry was raised , “without the slightest crack or damage.”

There is evidence in primary document sources that at least one building in Chicago, the Franklin House on Franklin Street, was raised hydraulically by the engineer John C. Lane, of the Lane and Stratton partnership.The team had been using this method of lifting buildings in San Francisco since 1853.