Friedrichstrasse is one of the most legendary streets in the whole city, combining the tradition of the ‘Golden Twenties’ with the architecture of Berlin beyond 1989. In the ’20s, the 3.5 km long street was the place to be with cafés, theaters and Vaudevilles, such as the famous Wintergarten.
By 1997 Friedrichstraße was still an unattractive building site in the east part of Berlin. The traders of ‘City West’ were against the eastern development. Similar to the politics of the West-Side-Story gangs, this West vs. East story clashed until a German investor shockingly built a luxury shopping mall on this historic ground. The building, Quartier 206, created by New York based architect, I.M. Pei, was different, disgusting for the old-school-Berliners and (almost) impossible to rent at the time.
Now Friedrichstrasse 71 boasts an extravagant Art Déco style and is home to the boutiques of countless top designers, featuring more than 8,000 square meters of retail space filled with Mono-Brand-Stores like Gucci, Cerruti, La Perla, Akkesoir, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Brille 54, and more.