VR warehouses

[1] The oldest parts of the warehouses were designed by Bruno Granholm and built in 1898–1899, when they served as the cargo terminal for the Helsinki Central railway station.

Various music concerts, including the Tuska heavy metal festival in 1999 and 2000[5] and the Jyrki Video Awards in 2001–2003[6][7] were often held at the warehouses.

By the mid-2000s, the warehouses had been under a threat of demolition for almost a decade to make way for a new Helsinki Music Centre concert hall.

In the aftermath of the EuroMayDay [fi] riots on 1 May 2006, a group of young people decided to set up bonfires between the warehouses.

[9] However, police concluded in July 2006 that it had been accidental, caused either by a firework or a discarded cigarette that smouldered for several hours before suddenly breaking out across a large part of the building.

[9] A small section at the end of the southern warehouse damaged by the fire was planned to be preserved and used as a pavilion-like cafe extension to the concert hall.

This viewpoint was contrary, however, to many people's wishes to preserve the warehouses in their entirety due to their perceived historical and communal value.