A historic brick building burned down Friday morning in the Alviso district in San Jose.
Firefighters responded to the fire at about 4 a.m.
After about an hour trying, they ultimately could not save the structure.
In its prior life, the historical H.G. Wade Warehouse was used as a stagecoach refurbishing area by Wells Fargo and was used as a stage for old western films. The city declared the abandoned building a historical landmark in 2003.
"The owner had it built in the late 1800s," said Betty Brown, the current renter of the building, guessing about 1870 to 1875. She used it for storage and also owns the Alviso flea market property next door.
Brown believes the fire was started by someone squatting inside. She’d seen someone starting fires outside the building over the last few years, and so now that there was one inside "was not a surprise," she said.
According to San Jose Fire Department Spokesperson Erica Ray, the fire downed some power lines nearby as well.
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