ABSTRACT
Generally, the half-hearted aĴempts to rebuild Friedrichstraße with modernist blocks were not too popular. Even in 1966, the East Berlin philosopher and architectural theorist Lothar Kühne used unusually open words to criticize the design as too conventional and a mismatch with the baroque buildings on the boulevard Unter den Linden that were (re)built approximately at the same time.6 Many Berliners perceived the loss of the old entertainment district and the current bleakness as painful. This becomes evident from the unconcealed nostalgia for the pre-war Friedrichstraße, which filled numerous articles from both East and West Berlin newspapers.7 It was nevertheless not until the late 1970s that the East German leaders worked out a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Friedrichstraße.
