When I first moved to Colorado, I was fascinated and amused, sometimes twice per day on the school run, I’d pass Tape and Disk(or was it disc?) Dr. The roads led to nothing. and empty site, full of scrub grass and weeds. I’d always assumed it was a failed tax break development scheme. This seemed particularly likely as there is a large multi-property multi-family housing development across the street.
I was surprised recently on a Wednesday morning ride when one of the guys I was riding with declared he used to work at StorageTek there. I was fascinated. Although I remember IBM had a plant here that developed laser printers, but I knew that location was sold to Lexmark.
Rather than the roads leading to an undeveloped location, the location had at one time been a thriving location. Some poking around on the Denver Business Journal website revealed the story, and google maps had some pictures of the site in better days and from I36 you can even see some of the buildings. The picture below is a 2008 aerial picture of the site. Disk Dr is the road onto the site in the upper right, and Tape Dr on the lower right.
From the Denver Business Journal
- Sun completes StorageTek acquisition(Sept. 2005)
- Martin leaves impressive legacy at StorageTek(Oct. 2005)
- Secrecy shrouds buyer of StorageTek site(Jan 2008)
- ConocoPhillips to build campus on former StorageTek site in Louisville(Feb 2008)
- Phillips 66 pulls the plug on Louisville energy campus(Oct. 2012)
Asides from questions about the future of the site, the only real question is when did the site transfer between Louisville and Broomfield cities, see pictures above.
My Linked profile
Adventures in systems land 
It was not long after the Sun acquisition. Storagetek disk R&D and software development were there. I believe Nigel Dessau was somehow involved in that after he left IBM.
FWIW, the printer plant was in Boulder, colocated with the Ricoh complex at 6100 sw Diagonal Hwy (home of all service tapes).
Indeed, if you read through the links, Nigel was head of the tape division. Nigel is of course a personal friend. I’ve reached out to him for updates. Thanks for the observations David.
“Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.”
My friend, and programming genius, John Hartmann from Copenhagen always used to muse, you can’t beat the bandwidth of a jumbo jet.
I worked there 1986-88 as a “Moving Man”, mostly going to all seven buildings and moving office furniture or equipment, so I got to see just about all of the things going on at that time. A big thing can be seen in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Eraser” when Vanessa Williams uses the Aspen (the code name when I worked there was “Iceberg”, or vice versa, it’s been 32 years!) Tape Drive Silo to obtain information. I saw all the components in tests, moved many of them, and even moved a full sized model to Boulder and Nederland for promotional filming. My Dad worked in Remote Diagnostics for ages too and retired just before Sun took over. Back in it’s heyday STC (earler STK) sure was a jumping place!
Thanks so much Terry. I remember seeing an STK tape library at one of the UK Banks I worked for IBM, they were monsters.
Reblogged this on Adventures in systems land.
I left IBM on April 1st 2015 – bonus got paid at end of q1. I think i took month off and then started at STK. Sun had been looking at STK but my sense was the deal was off when I joined as CMO. Pat Martin called me into his office 6 weeks later to told me the business had been sold. It took 6 months to close.
Why did Sun buy STK? My sense is they swapped Cash for Profit. The problem was that Sun was pretty much doomed by then. That’s another story.
I was very fortunate to be offered a position as an associate engineer with StorageTek Australia in 1988 i remember doing the “shoe shine” routine on the 9 track tape drives while maintaining them. Im happy that i had the opportunity to visit StorageTek Colorado in 1990 and yes i remember driving into Tape Drive, Disk Drive.
Dual hammer banks the words first dual hammer bank printer STK 5000. Changing the tractor paper guides was a challenge.
I remember seeing “Iceberg” being tested to its limits while the final software was being developed this was RAID before EMC!
Its sad the software component failed them STK was way above anyone else at that time in trying to develop software for RAID technology led by the wonderful CEO Ryal Poppa who brought STK to provenance with the “4400 Silo”.
StorageTek (STK) was a wonderful company that cared for and looked after their employees it gave me many great opportunities in life. Thank you STK.
Omg! Thank you! I know this an old article, but I hope this reaches you. I recently moved to Colorado and right across the street from this closed off mystery space. I have gone down a rabbit hole trying to find and figure out what was previously there and why it’s not anymore. You solved the mystery!
Thanks for the comment Crystal. There are big plans to redevelop the site as Redtail Ridge.
Take a look at the links in this search. “redtail ridge” +louisville at DuckDuckGo
Yes I’ve been reading up the debates and meetings they’ve been having on the plans for the area. It will be interesting, I live on the 3rd floor and have a clear view of the space. I was just hav)not so much trouble finding the “before photos” of what stood there. And those crumbling asphalt pieces that are nearly covered in grass now just drove me nuts every time I drive by there! 😆
Since this was primarily my technology website I don’t really update it anymore. I’m over at markcathcart.com now and also writing for Boulder weekly’s Govt. Watch page both on print and online.sometime soon I will be writing about the lack of joined up thinking in planning and transport.
Hopefully see you there!