The curved, red-and-white striped facade of Kranzler Eck defines this corner of Kurfürstendamm. Decades ago, this site held the legendary Café Kranzler, a gathering spot where West Berliners watched the world go by through floor-to-ceiling…
West Berlin City Center
This stroll showcases the post-war rebirth and legendary glamour of West Berlin's historic center along the Kurfürstendamm.
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1. Kranzler Eck Berlin
2. Zoo Palast
The Zoo Palast in Berlin features a sweeping, curved facade and an oversized marquee that cuts across the building’s midsection. Originally opened in nineteen twenty-seven as a cinema for grand premieres, it survived heavy bombing during…
3. Bikini Berlin
The Bikini Berlin complex features a distinctive facade of mismatched window sizes and concrete framing that mimics the architecture of a nineteen fifties commercial pavilion. It served as a hub for West Berlin fashion during the Cold War,…
4. Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church consists of a jagged, hollowed-out concrete spire rising beside a modern, blue-glass octagon. In November nineteen forty-three, Allied bombers struck the original neo-Romanesque tower, shearing off its…
5. Weltkugelbrunnen Wasserklops
The Weltkugelbrunnen, known to locals as the Wasserklops, is a bronze sculpture of the globe sitting in a wide, circular basin. It was installed in nineteen eighty-three to mark the end of a long urban development project at…
6. Europa-Center
The Europa-Center features a seventy-one-meter-high illuminated Mercedes star that rotates slowly above its roof. Completed in nineteen sixty-five, this concrete complex emerged on the site of the former Romanisches Cafe, a meeting place…
7. KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens
The Kaufhaus des Westens displays a glass-paneled rooftop extension that sits atop a heavy, stone-clad facade. Opened in nineteen oh seven by Adolf Jandorf, the department store brought high-end luxury to the edge of the city’s residential…