Originally, El Tanque was used to store around 40 million liters of fuel oil, in order to supply fuel to ships in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. However, in 1958, when the neighborhood of Cabo-Llanos, where it is located, was transformed into a residential area, it stopped fulfilling that function of storage.
In 1997, thanks to the rehabilitation proposal of architect Fernando Martín Menis, the space was inaugurated as the El Tanque Cultural Space. The architectural firm AMP (Artengo, Menis, Pastrana) took advantage of the structural characteristics of the tank and preserved its industrial character, using recycled materials from the refinery that was being dismantled at that time.
In 2014, it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Monument category by Decree of April 30, 2014.