the coffee delicious...

1/8/04
A childhood landmark,
once home of "Coffee Delicious"--
now charred brick, stone.

Butternut Coffee used to be known as "The Coffee Delicious." Coffee beans were roasted and ground in the warehouse district, and everyone knew its watertower by sight. The watertower was painted to resemble the coffee can of the moment (actually, the appearance changed little until the 1970s). The aroma of roasted coffee filled the downtown air until the 1990, when Coca-Cola (Butternut's owner at the time) closed down the building. Almost as soon as the building closed, plans were made and abandoned by various would-be owners to make it into apartments. Finally, a couple of years ago, an investor was found and lofts were created. The condos and apartments were close to being completed when it went up in flames last night at 11:30. The well-known coffee can watertower collasped by 1 a.m. The building, at 5 p.m., is still burning.