14 DAY TRIAL // A 100-year-old barn constructed with planks of redwood has been torn down by Apple as it prevented construction of the “spaceship campus” to carry on as planned. The company has promised to restore the century-old barn when construction is completed.
There are quite a few headlines swirling around regarding the Glendenning Barn today. Most of them say Apple is “saving” the structure in question as it marches forward with the construction of Apple Campus 2. In reality, the company is only saving it from its own earth movers.
The barn has already been torn down and will only be re-assembled in late 2016, perhaps even early 2017 if things don’t go exactly as planned on the spaceship campus site. Considering the sheer size of the project, countless things can postpone the completion date.
“When they're finished, the land will look much more like it did 50 or 100 years ago than it looked five years ago,” said the mayor of Cupertino. “The barn fits into that.”
Barn to undergo second major renovation
Historic monuments tend to lose their value when they’re tampered with. HP reportedly reconditioned the barn once by replacing the roof and floor. Now Apple has dismembered it altogether and it has even brought redwood from an old grove in case any damaged planks need to be replaced, according to Donna Austin, president of the Cupertino Historical Society. It’s a 1,900-square-foot barn, so there’s a good chance of planks getting damaged.
Furthermore, Apple reportedly plans to erect the barn elsewhere than its original position. According to the San Jose Mercury News, planners decided to place the barn near the new Apple fitness center, where it will reportedly serve as “a hub for employees.”