Cambridge rocket to land at new home
Posted Nov 22, 2018 12:00:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The famous rocket that stood out in front of the Satellite Motel on Hespeler Road in Cambridge for 50 plus years will soon have a new home.
It has been purchased by Jim McLaughlin.
He owns ACE Tire and Auto and that is where the rocket's new home will be, out in front of his business on Samuelson Street.
“Rather than see it either leave the town or get scrapped, we thought we'd just get our hands on it and try and preserve it for a few more years.” McLaughlin told KitchenerToday.com.
He also has a personal connection to the landmark, as his father helped build it.
“My father worked at Irving Steel back in the day … Anytime we drove past it when he was alive, he was quite proud to let me know he helped build the rocket,” explained McLaughlin.
Construction crews are already getting the concrete base ready for the rocket, which is almost 30 feet tall.
The move won't be far as the Satellite Motel is less than three kilometres from McLaughlin's business.
They will use a crane to remove it and then float it on a transport truck.
The rocket should be at its new home in the next week.
McLaughlin won't disclose what he paid for it, but says he will have “several thousand dollars” invested by the time it's in the ground in front of ACE Tire and Auto.
The Satellite Motel is coming down to make way for affordable housing.
