FAST DAYS, LONG NIGHTS
Potsdamer Platz as the focal point of an era
Potsdamer Platz could be reached in the twenties of the last century by rapid transit train and underground, 26 tram lines and 5 bus lines and was thus the square in Europe with the highest density of traffic. Every day, 20,000 cars crossed the square and 83,000 travellers were counted at Potsdam railway station. The pentagonal traffic tower erected on Potsdamer Platz in 1924 was the first set of traffic lights in Europe and became a symbol of the progressive metropolis, Berlin.
The architectural cityscape on Potsdamer Platz underwent continual change. Old parts were demolished to make room for changing requirements. Classicism was replaced by New Objectivity. The gatehouses designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1824 stood directly adjacent to the modern Columbus Building erected by Erich Mendelsohn in 1931/32. Alongside the large hotels and social life at balls and receptions, Potsdamer Platz developed into a centre of middle-class entertainment. 'Haus Vaterland' with its dance café and restaurants, the 'Ufa-Filmpalast', the 'Europa-Tanz-Pavillon', the 'Meisel-Pschorr brewery, 'Café Josty' and 'Weinhaus Huth' became legendary.
In 'Rheinterrassen', one of the restaurants in 'Vaterland', thunderstorms with electric lightning flashes and rain from water pipes were staged several times per evening. All of these establishments still today characterise our picture of the Golden Twenties.
