Photo above: Santa Clara Valley Nostalgia

"Once a symbol for the old Libby's cannery (in 1922 it was the world's largest). The water tower resembles the company's first fruit cocktail can. Heritage landmark plaque at the base, the Roadside America reports.

"On California Ave., it was the water tower for the old Libby's cannery, which legend says, is where fruit cocktail was invented. The tower is probably about 150 up in the air, with the 'can' about 25 feet tall, 15 feet across.

"When the cannery was torn down, the water tower was spared. The city named it a local historical landmark. I've been told the Federal Aviation Administration also stressed the importance of the landmark, citing its use as a navigational landmark," the Roadside America reports.

"...the tower survives as a 150-foot high heritage landmark. Locals wouldn’t let the visible connection to the valley’s agricultural history be swept away, and the 25-foot tank was repainted by artist Anita Kaplan as a replica of one of Libby’s earliest fruit cocktail labels — then marketed as “Fresh Fruit for Salads,” the Mercury News reports.

"The can is approximately 25 feet tall and 15 feet across. It stands about 150 feet in the air and is visible from several areas of the city, the Atlas Obscura reports.

"However when the factory was torn down, the tower was painted over, removing the distinctive Libby’s label. Incensed, the residents of Sunnyvale protested the change, and the top of the tower was repainted to look like the first Libby’s fruit cocktail label from the early 1900s.Today, the tower still stands in the midst of a generic office park, identifying the former site of the factory that once employed nearly the entire city."

"The city has named it a historical landmark. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration has supposedly stated that the can is a valuable navigational landmark," the weirdca.com reports.

"The Libby Cannery was the World's Largest Cannery in 1922, having been established back in 1907 by a Chicago meat packing company named Libby, McNeill & Libby. The cannery and area around it were all torn down to make way for office space.

"The plaque reads: Libby Water Tower - Libby, McNeill & Libby opened in 1907 and by 1922 became the world's largest cannery. The original tower supplied water to the cannery and its workers and was replaced in 1965 by the present structure."

"Around the structure are benches and a couple tables as well as a lawn to sit on and have a picnic there is also beautiful "and I mean beautiful" landscaping all around it. Wifey and I visited on a Saturday and it was so peaceful here as there was nobody else around."

"Though there's nothing too fancy or exciting about this historical landmark, the area is clean and inviting and not run down. It's peaceful and not crowded. It's certainly something out of the ordinary to see and learn about. Most of all, it made me hungry for sliced peaches! :-)"