The Strangest Places

Think you can spot a data center? Yes, many state and local government data centers are housed in typical buildings, but we also found a few in untraditional settings. Take a peek.

ON THE WATER: After the city of Altamonte Springs, Fla., relocated equipment several times during hurricanes, IT staff decided they were tired of moving gear to dry ground. In 2005, the servers found a home in a decommissioned water tank with thick reinforced concrete walls that now keep water out, while wings on each side provide office space.

OLD AND NEW: The state of Massachusetts is transforming a former school into a data center designed to be a national model for green technology. The Springfield Data Center will preserve a large portion of the 1905 building's original façade, including an inscription above the front doors.

HIT THE MALL: 2008 flooding forced Linn County, Iowa, to temporarily relocate its data center while a new county building is under construction in Cedar Rapids. The county tapped the former Montgomery Ward site in the Westdale Mall to house what it calls the Linn County West office complex.

MILLION-DOLLAR VIEW: Seattle acquired a 62-story skyscraper downtown during the real estate bust of the late 1990s and placed the data center on the 27th floor. The printer room has a view of Mount Rainier, while the server room has a view of Mount Baker.