Freight Street at Anhalter Goods Station (1872–1880)

The Belly of Berlin – The Ladestraße, or “freight road,” was the heart of the Anhalter Bahnhof freight depot (finished in 1880). The two multistory buildings at the front housed offices. The two long, narrow warehouses were used for the transshipment and temporary storage of cargo. Originally, only 210 meters long, the warehouses were extended to about 320 meters in 1907 to accommodate increased freight traffic. About 400 laborers worked together to load and unload crates. The east warehouse was used for incoming goods, the west warehouse for outgoing shipments. The tracks run along the outside of the buildings, whereas vehicles were waiting on the inside to take incoming cargo and distribute it throughout the city. The freight depot lost its significance after World War II. Since 1990, the one remaining office building has housed the Deutsches Technikmuseum’s Science Center Spectrum. The warehouse behind it is home to the “On the Move” exhibition. The outgoing freight warehouse on the other side of the Ladestraße has been mostly a ruin since 1945. Those parts that can still be used provide space for the Technikmuseum’s Junior Campus and a practice stage for the Berliner Ensemble theater.