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Ghosts of IBM San Jose, 1/31/22 by Ronald Horii
I used to work for IBM at the San Jose plantsite on Cottle Road, starting in the 1970's. The plant was originally built in 1957 on 200 acres of orchard land. The world's first magnetic disk drive, which was invented in downtown San Jose, was manufactured in the Cottle Road facility. IBM made most of its mainframe disk drive products here. I started out working there as a test engineer on the 3380. It was a refrigerator-size disk drive that used 14" disks, had a capacity of 2.5 GB, and cost about $100K per unit. When IBM sold the facility to Hitachi in 2003, I went with it. I even stayed on when Hitachi sold the facility and the division in 2012 to Western Digital (WD). I retired a few years later, but still pass by the plantsite regularly. I just can't go in it unless I get invited in. When Hitachi took over the campus, it didn't need all of the land or the buildings, so much of it around the periphery was sold and developed. The core of the plant is still there and used by Western Digital. They have even built new buildings. Some parts of the campus have been turned into housing developments, stores, and parks. Those I can visit. I can see the remaining buildings from the outside. Here's what the former IBM San Jose site looks like now, taken on 1/31/22. (Note that IBM still owns and runs the Almaden Research Center in the Santa Teresa Hills and the Silicon Valley Lab in the Coyote Valley.)
Here are some historic pictures of the plantsite: https://www.thesixfifty.com/five-fascinating-finds-from-the-archives-of-silicon-valleys-computer-history-museum-5487/
You can also see historic pictures at the small outdoor museum in the Lowe's parking lot, next to AutoZone. They were built on the site of IBM's historic Building 25, which burned down in a mysterious fire. See: https://designobserver.com/feature/a-memorial-to-random-access-memory/32218
I used to work for IBM at the San Jose plantsite on Cottle Road, starting in the 1970's. The plant was originally built in 1957 on 200 acres of orchard land. The world's first magnetic disk drive, which was invented in downtown San Jose, was manufactured in the Cottle Road facility. IBM made most of its mainframe disk drive products here. I started out working there as a test engineer on the 3380. It was a refrigerator-size disk drive that used 14" disks, had a capacity of 2.5 GB, and cost about $100K per unit. When IBM sold the facility to Hitachi in 2003, I went with it. I even stayed on when Hitachi sold the facility and the division in 2012 to Western Digital (WD). I retired a few years later, but still pass by the plantsite regularly. I just can't go in it unless I get invited in. When Hitachi took over the campus, it didn't need all of the land or the buildings, so much of it around the periphery was sold and developed. The core of the plant is still there and used by Western Digital. They have even built new buildings. Some parts of the campus have been turned into housing developments, stores, and parks. Those I can visit. I can see the remaining buildings from the outside. Here's what the former IBM San Jose site looks like now, taken on 1/31/22. (Note that IBM still owns and runs the Almaden Research Center in the Santa Teresa Hills and the Silicon Valley Lab in the Coyote Valley.)
Here are some historic pictures of the plantsite: https://www.thesixfifty.com/five-fascinating-finds-from-the-archives-of-silicon-valleys-computer-history-museum-5487/
You can also see historic pictures at the small outdoor museum in the Lowe's parking lot, next to AutoZone. They were built on the site of IBM's historic Building 25, which burned down in a mysterious fire. See: https://designobserver.com/feature/a-memorial-to-random-access-memory/32218
15 Likes12 comments
Rocky Olivares and 14 others like this.
Arthur Glockner
Thank you for sharing these photos. I worked there from 1972-1982, and enjoyed every year.
2 yrsReport
Judy Fenerty
I grew up in IBM land near Kingston New York. We moved to the area because of IBM and my father worked there until he retired. My brother also worked there for a while, along with many other people who lived around us. San Jose was always the mythical plant somewhere out west!
2 yrsReport
Jaime Cifuentes
Thank you for the memories. I worked at Cottle Rd from 76 until they moved us out to Milpitas, after the plant site was sold to Hitachi. I retired at the end of 2007.
So I had many memories there. I starded in building 6, then I started a job in 26, from there to building 51, them to building 12, back to 26 and from there to Milpitas.
I had a great time working for IBM through my 30 and 1/2 years
So I had many memories there. I starded in building 6, then I started a job in 26, from there to building 51, them to building 12, back to 26 and from there to Milpitas.
I had a great time working for IBM through my 30 and 1/2 years
2 yrsReport
Bob Szymanski Sr
Was there in 1971. Field trip from Poughkeepsie NY. I heard it was built on the San Andreas fault. Anyone remember the pink poodle?
2 yrsReport
Tiziano Airoldi
Thanks for sharing, I have been assigned in IBM bld 50 in 1984 for a year working in test equipment software development. what a time, will never forget!
2 yrsReport
Michael Perazzo
Really cool! I worked at TransData Corp in the 90's where we refurbished the heads for those old disk drives, the "spindles" also. I was the engineer in charge of maintaining all of the old test and repair fixtures. I came in at the very end before it was all obsolete and the company was sold. Thanks for the memories, so to speak!
2 yrsReport
Terry Hansen
Joined IBM in January 1974 and had my first class (Selling Fundamentals) there and made some great friends.
2 yrsReport
Roger Charles Delight
This is like revisiting Mather, McClellan, or Moffett airfields which I served at but have since been "demilitarized"
2 yrsReport
Stephanie Procker
It's hard to recognize what used to be there. My husband worked there starting in1980.
2 yrsReport
LuAnn Elesky Hood
Wow how the world has changed ! Thank you it was a honor to work at IBM it gave me this career of a life time I am a Buyer for Senior conducted and so blesed to work from home for years !
1 yrReport
