Karl-Marx-Allee 31 (north side)
Construction period: 1961–1963, demolition: 1996
Architecture: Josef Kaiser and Günter Kunert
New commercial building
Construction period: 1996–1998
Architecture: Jan Bassenge, Johannes Heinrich, Kay Puhan-Schulz
From a GDR Interhotel to a commercial building with a similar look
The Mitte District Administration building, a 13-story slab high-rise resembles its predecessor, the Hotel Berolina, in location, proportions and blue colourway.
Hotel Berolina was the first modern new hotel building in post-war Berlin. The glass hotel hall and the restaurant were among the most modern architectural designs of the 1960s.
Opened in 1964, Hotel Berolina belonged to the state-owned Handelsorganisation (HO, commercial organisation). The 605-bed hotel was a popular Interhotel from 1965 on, accommodating one million guests in 1969.
The hotel was demolished in 1996, because renovation did not appear worthwhile. The construction permit for the new commercial building was granted subject to the condition that its façades would resemble the Interhotel’s.