Wilhelmshallen

The Wilhelmshallen stood on Hardenbergstraße in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Built between 1905 and 1906 by architect Carl Gause, the neoromanic hall honoured Kaiser Wilhelm I. Its design followed strict instructions from Kaiser Wilhelm II. In 1943 a wartime air raid damaged the building, and by 1955 it had been demolished. Today the site holds the Zoo Palast cinema, completed in 1957 by architects Paul Schwebes, Hans Schoszberger and Gerhard Fritsche. The halls formed part of a larger neoromanic ensemble called the Romanisches Forum around Auguste-Viktoria-Platz. Nearby stood Franz Schwechten’s Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche and other neoromanic structures such as Romanische Haus I and II. Schwechten also designed the Rolandbrunnen fountain, removed in 1928 for traffic reasons. Emil Schaudt’s Haus Kaisereck, built in 1914–1915, completed the group though it showed little romanic detail. Inside, the building began as an exhibition hall before becoming a venue for cultural events. In 1912 it hosted shows like Die Frau in Haus und Beruf and Haus- und Wohnungsbau. After a 1912 conversion, the western section operated as a variety theatre and cinema called Palasttheater am Zoo. By 1925 the UFA company ran the site as the Ufa-Palast am Zoo, showing films and housing a café photographed by Willy Pragher in 1926.