David Bauerlein | Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
The big red water tank standing on top of the Union Terminal Warehouse that thousands of motorists drive past on their way into downtown is among the features an Atlanta-based developer kept intact while turning the century-old warehouse into an apartment building.
In the building’s heyday as a warehouse, the tank held 50,000 gallons of water connected to a sprinkler system that run throughout the building where dozens of metal-plated doors also were ready to swing shut to keep any fire from spreading.
Built in 1913, the warehouse opened when memories were still fresh of the Great Fire of 1901 that destroyed much of Jacksonville.
“All of that was a signal to prospective tenants and users of the building — the city burned down but your stuff ain’t going to burn down here,” said Ryan Akin, development manager and partner at Atlanta-based Columbia Ventures.
These days, the message behind the water tank and other historic features preserved in the building is its connection to the Eastside neighborhood.
Source: Jacksonville Florida Times Union