Plant 51

Del Monte Plant No. 51 dried and canned Santa Clara Valley fruit from 1912 until 1990, when the company moved operations to Fresno — which makes this building the single best physical record of what the valley was before the silicon. The five-plus-year historic rehabilitation reopened it in 2009 with residences built within the original brick shell.

265 condominiums run from one-bedroom flats to three-story lofts, with original cannery timber and salvaged industrial artifacts throughout the common areas. Steps from Diridon Station and SAP Center — and directly in the path of whatever downtown San Jose becomes next.