Second Acts With Roll-Up Doors: The Most Unexpected Self Storage Conversions In The U.S.

You probably don’t expect to stash your holiday decorations in a former armory. Or tuck away old photo albums where moviegoers once lined up for popcorn. But across the country, some of the most unexpected buildings are getting a second act — as self storage facilities.

Adaptive reuse has become one of real estate’s unexpected success stories, with roughly 179 million square feet — about 10% of the nation’s storage inventory coming from converted spaces(opens in new tab). In cities where land is tight and zoning can stall new construction, developers are turning to what’s already standing. Industrial and office spaces are the usual suspects. But every now and then, a building with a far more colorful past trades its original purpose for rows of roll-up doors.

At StorageCafe, we asked our team to rank the most eye-catching self storage conversions based on their previous lives. From institutions built to hold movie screenings to venues once filled with cheers, these buildings prove that reinvention can be both practical and a little surreal.

Let’s take a look at the most interesting former uses behind today’s storage spaces.

1. County jail (Indianapolis, IN)

Built: 1975 | Converted: 2023

Once home to inmates, this former county jail found a new, quieter purpose as its institutional days faded. Built in 1975, the building was converted into a self storage facility  in 2023. The facility is located in Indianapolis, IN.

Overall, the facility encompasses 66,000 square feet of rentable space, offering plenty of room for locals who need extra storage outside their homes. The building’s architecture, defined by narrow corridors and cells, easily transitioned into storage units meant to hold personal belongings. For locals, the transformation can feel surreal: a place once associated with authority and punishment now serves everyday storage needs.

2. Brewery (Newark, NJ)

Built: Early 1900s | Converted: Recent

This early 1900s brewery filled one of Newark, NJ’s neighborhoods with the sound of machinery. Fast forward to 1924, its industrial bones remain, now home to a storage facility. Its initial structure, consisting of high ceilings, wide-open floors and brick walls? Turned into an ideal candidate for adaptive reuse – the oldest conversion in our list, going back 126 years.

Today, the building stores furniture, seasonal items, and other personal or business belongings as it serves the local community in its new role, embracing its new self storage role in Newark. Covering about 67,500 square feet of rentable space, the facility can now serve the locals by offering a little extra space where their homes can’t expand.

3. Armory (Elizabeth, NJ)

Built: Early 1900s | Converted: 2020

Built in the early years of the 20th century, this armory in Elizabeth, NJ, served as a hub for military equipment storage. Its original purpose, that of protecting personnel and weapons, came with a fortress-like design. Now, after conversion, the building’s sturdy architecture offers a different kind of protection, meant to address the current needs of the locals.

The converted facility now offers close to 74,000 square feet of rentable space. This spacious building is a prime example of history meeting practicality, showing how civic structures can be adapted to meet changing needs.

4. Movie theater (Marietta, GA)

Built: 1993 | Converted: 2023

While it initially drew movie enthusiasts in droves to movie nights and weekend matinees, this theater in Marietta, GA, struggled to maintain its original purpose as streaming brought serious competition. While its big screens went dark, the building opened its gates back to the public.

In 2023, the spotlight moved to a more practical endeavor as its reconfigured as a self storage facility. The large auditoriums and general lobbies lent themselves to an adaptation into a self storage facility. The recently converted facility covers close to 59,000 square feet of rented space. This is a great reminder that defunct places of shared experience can once again serve the community by offering practical spaces that support modern living.

5. School (Corpus Christi, TX)

Built: 1994 | Converted: 2024

Another eye-catching conversion hails from Corpus Christi and points to a former school turned into a storage facility. Initially built in 1994, the building was retrofitted two decades later for storage.

Over 90,000 square feet of space can now be home to furniture, appliances, clothing and any other items locals need to keep away from home. That comes down to over 12B pencil tips, a quantity hard to imagine for former and current students alike! Adaptive reuse enabled this former school to repurpose its educational spaces when its original role ended, in a way that still supports the community.

6. Former newspaper building (Boise, ID)

Built: 1972 | Converted: 2024

Boise, ID, is also staking its claim to fame with interesting conversions, seeing that a former newspaper building transitioned to self storage. With print journalism downsizing, the space became vacant. Interestingly, this conversion is a classic example of office-to-storage adaptive reuse, in line with Boise’s self storage conversions, coming exclusively from office buildings.

The building boasts close to 108,000 rentable square feet, enough to house plenty of books and other paper products – the last reminder of the bygone hectic days of the press room and offices it previously housed. The transformation shows that new opportunities lie just around the corner when old chapters close.

7. Skating rink (Henderson, NC)

Built: 1980s | Converted: 2021 |

Originally built for lively gatherings with locals lacing up their skates to hit the ice, this previous skating rink took on a quieter role as a storage facility. After almost four decades of serving the local community in an entertainment capacity, the building took on a new role as a storage facility in 2021.

The repurposed space offers close to 18,000 rentable square feet to serve its local customers. We can’t say for sure whether the building can accommodate as many people as it did over those four decades, but its repurposing is still serving the community in another form now.

8. Bingo venue (Schenectady, NY)

Built: 1972 | Converted: 2021|

Still in the entertainment lane, a bingo venue in Schenectady, NY, also underwent an interesting transformation into a self storage facility. Built in 1972, the building once housed Palace Bingo and Bowling, hosting lively evenings filled with games.

As attendance declined, the building gained a new identity as a self storage facility in 2021 and offers over 30,000 square feet of rentable space.

9. Indoor Karting Track (Phoenix, AZ)

Built: 1973 | Converted: 2019 |

Another unexpected adaptive reuse project is the transformation of an indoor karting track into a storage facility in Phoenix, AZ. While engines and cheering crowds once filled the space with energy, it’s now taken on a quieter role, with its open layout proving to be an advantage for the 2019 self storage conversion.

The building offers over 74,000 square feet of rentable space — enough to hold nearly 114,000 sheets of paper. With storage units often used for paperwork, some of these units might actually play host to plenty of paper, among other stored items!

10. Trolley Barn (Philadelphia, PA)

Built: 1912 | Converted: 2023

Built over a century ago, this Philadelphia trolley barn was once home to streetcars that helped bring the city to life. Once the trolley system faded, the building no longer served its original purpose. That’s why in 2023, it was turned into a storage facility, continuing to serve the community as a repository of personal belongings.
The recently repurposed building spans over 120,000 square feet of rentable space. For customers renting here, visiting your storage unit will also feel like a unique experience, as you step into a building full of historical character!

Why conversions make sense in urban markets

The buildings above have something in common beyond their colorful pasts: many of them sit in places where building new is hard. Across the country’s 100 largest metros, 59% of the space built over the past decade sits outside city cores, while 41% was delivered in urban areas(opens in new tab). In many cities, land is scarce and expensive, zoning is tightening and construction costs have climbed.

That’s where adaptive reuse comes in. Conversions like the Indianapolis county jail, the Elizabeth armory or the Philadelphia trolley barn let developers work with buildings that already exist, avoiding the search for developable land and easing some of the hurdles of ground-up projects.

Unusual buildings that get turned into self storage facilities show that the industry is not all about square footage, but also about second chances. As cities evolve and needs shift, adaptive reuse offers a pragmatic solution: preserve what’s already there, rethink its purpose and keep serving the community.

In the end, these conversions show that buildings, much like the cities around them, don’t have to be defined by their first chapter. Sometimes, all it takes is a roll-up door and a fresh coat of paint to turn history into something useful again.