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Lessing Theater
The Lessing Theater was a theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It opened in 1888 and was destroyed in April 1945 in a bombing raid; its ruins were demolished after World War II.
The construction of the theatre, for around 900,000 Mark, was especially notable since it was the first new theatre built in Berlin since the construction of the Wallner Theater in 1864; in between only renovations of old theatres and existing spaces had taken place. By order of director Oscar Blumenthal, the building, designed in a Renaissance Revival style by the architects Hermann von der Hude and Julius Hennicke, was constructed in less than a year, between October 1887 and September 1888. The theatre opened on 11 September 1888, staging Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's drama Nathan the Wise.
The oddly angled piece of land, the site of former Circus Krembser, was located in the historic Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt quarter, at the corner of Friedrich-Karl-Ufer 1 (since 1951: Kapelle-Ufer) on the Spree riverside and Unterbaumstraße. Wedged between the Stadtbahn railway viaduct and the firewall of the building nextdoor, it made for a difficult design of a prestigious building. The architects designed a cupola above the podium that covered up the firewall, and the front facade with its portico turned the street corner into a kind of vestibule. The remaining triangular outside areas were set off from the street with lattice work and gates and functioned as gardens; the remaining area in the back served as delivery courtyard.
The location was commercially viable; the completion of the nearby Reichstag beyond the Spree River, linked by the Kronprinzenbrücke, promised a future appreciation of land values. The horsecars which passed in front of the theatre made the theatre easily accessible from all neighbourhoods.
The staircases leading to the spectators' areas were combined with the rest of the house. Its function as a theatre was indicated by the facade's vestibule, the double pillars, and the gable. The towers with double arcades above the staircases were probably designed with an eye on the building's appearance from afar, but also emphasized the building's character. The middle part was dominated by the stalls, while the appearance from the rear was determined by the roof of the stage.
Spectators entered the theatre through one of three doors in the vestibule, which was equipped with a roof to protect unloading horse cars. The lobby measured 15.40 by 9.00 metres. Ticket counters were placed on either side of the lobby, with doors beside them that gave access to the second storey balconies. Doors directly across from the entrance led to the stalls and the first level of balconies.
After the show, spectators from the stalls left the theatre through two separate doors on the side of the theatre or through the main lobby. Spectators from the first and second rows of balconies had special exits through the staircases, so they would not have to cross the lobby again. This allowed the theatre to empty quickly and permitted shorter time periods between two shows.
Wardrobes were available outside the various spectator areas. The hallways also functioned as spectator space during intermissions. For the more prominent visitors, in the stalls and the first gallery, a separate foyer above the main lobby was allocated, a grand room, measuring 9.45 by 15.60 metres, and 6.80 metres high. During warmer seasons, doors opened up to a balcony above the vestibule and to balconies on either side of the corridors for the first gallery. Spectators in the second gallery had two bars available for beer, which also allowed access to an outside area.
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Lessing Theater
The Lessing Theater was a theatre in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It opened in 1888 and was destroyed in April 1945 in a bombing raid; its ruins were demolished after World War II.
The construction of the theatre, for around 900,000 Mark, was especially notable since it was the first new theatre built in Berlin since the construction of the Wallner Theater in 1864; in between only renovations of old theatres and existing spaces had taken place. By order of director Oscar Blumenthal, the building, designed in a Renaissance Revival style by the architects Hermann von der Hude and Julius Hennicke, was constructed in less than a year, between October 1887 and September 1888. The theatre opened on 11 September 1888, staging Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's drama Nathan the Wise.
The oddly angled piece of land, the site of former Circus Krembser, was located in the historic Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt quarter, at the corner of Friedrich-Karl-Ufer 1 (since 1951: Kapelle-Ufer) on the Spree riverside and Unterbaumstraße. Wedged between the Stadtbahn railway viaduct and the firewall of the building nextdoor, it made for a difficult design of a prestigious building. The architects designed a cupola above the podium that covered up the firewall, and the front facade with its portico turned the street corner into a kind of vestibule. The remaining triangular outside areas were set off from the street with lattice work and gates and functioned as gardens; the remaining area in the back served as delivery courtyard.
The location was commercially viable; the completion of the nearby Reichstag beyond the Spree River, linked by the Kronprinzenbrücke, promised a future appreciation of land values. The horsecars which passed in front of the theatre made the theatre easily accessible from all neighbourhoods.
The staircases leading to the spectators' areas were combined with the rest of the house. Its function as a theatre was indicated by the facade's vestibule, the double pillars, and the gable. The towers with double arcades above the staircases were probably designed with an eye on the building's appearance from afar, but also emphasized the building's character. The middle part was dominated by the stalls, while the appearance from the rear was determined by the roof of the stage.
Spectators entered the theatre through one of three doors in the vestibule, which was equipped with a roof to protect unloading horse cars. The lobby measured 15.40 by 9.00 metres. Ticket counters were placed on either side of the lobby, with doors beside them that gave access to the second storey balconies. Doors directly across from the entrance led to the stalls and the first level of balconies.
After the show, spectators from the stalls left the theatre through two separate doors on the side of the theatre or through the main lobby. Spectators from the first and second rows of balconies had special exits through the staircases, so they would not have to cross the lobby again. This allowed the theatre to empty quickly and permitted shorter time periods between two shows.
Wardrobes were available outside the various spectator areas. The hallways also functioned as spectator space during intermissions. For the more prominent visitors, in the stalls and the first gallery, a separate foyer above the main lobby was allocated, a grand room, measuring 9.45 by 15.60 metres, and 6.80 metres high. During warmer seasons, doors opened up to a balcony above the vestibule and to balconies on either side of the corridors for the first gallery. Spectators in the second gallery had two bars available for beer, which also allowed access to an outside area.