News: SJFD - Historic IBM Building 25

IBM's Historic IBM Building 25 in San Jose burns in early morning fire

The fire was reported at 1:32 a.m in Building 25, which required 75 firefighters and support staff to control destroyed the interior contents completely gutting the building said Capt. Anthony Pianto with the San Jose fire department...No cause has been determined.

The building - where the forerunner to the hard drive was invented had been vacant for years, and was the subject of controversy and lawsuits after the city allowed it to be a razed and replaced with a Lowe's hardware store.

Hysterical Preservationists argued that the 1957 building where the flying head disc drive was invented should be protected. They also contended that the John Bolles design was architecturally significant.

The two sides had been working toward a settlement to preserve part of the building, but Saturday's fire made a future resolution uncertain.

Understatement of the year -

We were "hopeful of having some successful result to this, but if there's little or nothing left" to preserve ''it does make it more difficult,"

said Brian Grayson, interim executive director of the Preservation Action Council of San Jose.

Battalion Chief Susan Salinger said city officials had been consulting firefighters on the salvaging what they could.

"Our concern is this is historical," Salinger said. "So we want to preserve what's possible. At the same time, put (the fire) out."

News Story at : Merc news