The mystery of the Docktown tankhouse

“It’s one of a kind, not like anything else anywhere: an old tankhouse that dates from the dawn of the 20th century, turned roadhouse and community center,” said Callister, sounding like a researcher on public television’s “’History Detectives.” The tank’s tower was built with massive redwood timbers from the forests above Redwood City and is “a showcase for the resilience of the wood of the giant trees.”

The wood is topped by the giant metal tank, and walls have been added to the wooden parts, making way for a bar, kitchen, dance floor and a lounge area. The tankhouse has become a popular place to mingle, eat and listen to the many musicians who perform there.

A plan for a proposed 7.8-acre development that will include townhouses could result in relocation of the tank to city-owned property, but not the part that houses the yacht club. However, hearings on the matter continue.

In an extensive article in the Journal of Local History, which is published by the Archives Committee of the Redwood City Library, Callister writes that by 1909 Frank’s Tannery owned some 200 acres around what is today Docktown. Frank’s Tannery leather was an important commodity, and the tannery prospered under the Frank family, becoming for many years the largest employer in Redwood City.

Did the Franks build the tankhouse? Callister isn’t sure, noting that the tannery had its own, much larger tower, which survived a fire in 1968 that destroyed the rest of the tannery. Besides, a photo taken in 1917 shows the “squat little tank at Docktown” sitting alone on the creek some distance from the tannery.

Rivets on the tank are similar to those found in other steel tanks, trains and ships built in the late 19th century. According to Callister, a San Francisco Water Department historian thinks the tank was probably built by the Union Ironworks between 1870 and 1910. The Docktown structure may be the only tankhouse that has a redwood base with a steel tank on top. The yacht club moved in in the early 1980s and expanded and improved the property.

Callister disclosed in the Journal of Local History piece that he recently learned of another theory of the origin of the tankhouse, one that concluded the tank stored and distributed oil, not water.

“That would explain the squat design since building up water pressure would not have been a goal,” he said. “Setting the tank at a remote location also makes sense if there is a danger of an explosion.”

The new theory requires more research, he said, but added that it does not change the facts about the age or the iconic nature of the tankhouse.

“Further research will be needed to establish once and for all who built the structure and for what purpose,” he concluded.

The Rear View Mirror by history columnist Jim Clifford appears in the Daily Journal every other Monday. Objects in The Mirror are closer than they appear.