Preservation Online: Today's News Archives: San Jose's IBM Building, Home of the Hard Drive, To Be Erased

From Preservation Online, the online magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

www.preservationonline.org

San Jose's IBM Building, Home of the Hard Drive, To Be Erased

Story by Krista Walton / June 18, 2007

In California's oldest city, a piece of computer history will be deleted.

IBM Building 25, once a center for innovation with an innovative modern design to match, will be demolished to make way for a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.

Building 25, on a former IBM research campus in San Jose, Calif., is the location of the work behind the revolutionary "flying head disc drive," a precursor to the modern hard drive. The modern building, notable for its contemporary look when it was constructed in 1957, was designed by architect John Bolles.

Local groups such as the Preservation Action Council of San Jose and the Historic Landmarks Commission have been working to save Building 25 since 2003, when Lowe's announced its intention to demolish the building for a new store. Opponents of the store argued that the "big box" design was short-sighted and that Lowe's could incorporate Building 25 into the new structure. Lowe's representatives disagreed, arguing that the tax income for the city, an estimated $2.5 million, would outweigh saving the building, which has been empty since 1996.

At an early city council meeting, local media reports, Lowe's representatives argued that there were no alternatives to demolition. "You can't build a large-format store behind Building 25 and provide enough parking," Mark Stoner, Lowe's real-estate director, told the San Jose Mercury News. Since this project will be the first Lowe's in San Jose, he added, the company wants to "put our best foot forward."

Preservationists won a lawsuit against the city of San Jose in 2003 to stop the demolition and brought the issue before the San Jose City Council to discuss alternatives.

But at a meeting earlier this month, the city council voted in favor of Lowe's, ruling that the company must donate $300,000 toward historic preservation projects in San Jose. A demolition date has not yet been determined.

"[Building 25] deals with the lore and legacy and overall complexion of California history," says Edward Janke, chair of the City of San Jose Historic Landmarks Commission. "Once [Building 25] is gone, people will wonder what was on that site before Lowe's. In 20 years, after Lowe's is demolished, I doubt anyone will care, because [the site] will only serve as another place for big retail merchandisers. Plus, we end up with one more ugly, big box that no one likes."