Telecommunication tower
The former telecommunications high-rise (actually: telecommunications center) in Frankfurt am Main was built from 1951 to 1956 and was an ensemble of office and operational buildings for the telecommunications and postal service of the former Deutsche Bundespost . The center was in the city center between the shopping streets Zeil , Stiftstrasse and Große Eschenheimer Strasse and had a plot size of approx. 17,000 m². The partially listed building was demolished in 2005.
Historical development
In 1947, planning began for the construction of a new telecommunications center. The old, undamaged and underground telecommunications cables , as well as the convenient location, were decisive for the construction on the site of the Reichspost, which was destroyed in World War II in 1944, and the partially destroyed Palais Thurn und Taxis . The complex was the largest Frankfurt construction project in the first half of the 1950s.
The telecommunications buildings were primarily built for the offices of telecommunications and covered the space requirements for telephone and transmission technology in the post-war years. The former telecommunications office 1 ( remote office , radio , television broadcasting and international head office), as well as the telegraph office ( telex , video transmission and data transmission ) were housed in these buildings with technology and administration. The former telecommunications office 2 (national telephone technology) mainly had administrative offices in this building complex. In the part of the building delimited by the Zeil , Post Office 1 was to be found with administration and public counters. The telecommunications center was designed for a total of around 4,000 people.
The construction of the high-rise buildings - especially in the neighboring banking district - made it difficult to use the building for setting up radio links, as these are dependent on a "clear view" of the receiving station. This led to the decision to build a new telecommunications tower (today's Europaturm ), to which almost all radio relay technology moved after its completion in 1979.
Inside the building, the change from mechanical to electronic switching technology from the mid-1970s and later the progressive digitization of the entire communications technology led to a significant reduction in the space required by the technical facilities. The building complex was recently vacant, and at the same time the building technology became increasingly obsolete. The telecommunications tower in Bockenheim and the International Network Management Center (INMC) located directly next to it were able to meet the needs of digital technology more cost-effectively. The location of the property in an exposed inner-city location meant an economic value that far exceeded the operational benefit, so that the decision was made to sell. The new owners had the building demolished and a new development took place as part of the Palais Quartier .
Architecture and equipment
The building complex was an outstanding example of the industrial post-war architecture of the 1950s in Germany. The architect, senior post office building officer Heinrich Ebert, succeeded in reconciling the needs of the technical facilities with the needs of the staff and still using the available space economically. The building complex was built using a steel frame construction, which enabled flexible and inexpensive use of space. Generous staircases, a canteen with a view of the Frankfurt skyline, relaxation rooms for shift staff and a roof garden that can be walked on were part of the building's equipment. The predominant interior color was light gray, which on the one hand was the color of the telecommunications service, on the other hand, together with the interior fittings of the time, represented the spirit of the times for a rather sober official design.
Building structure
The complex was divided into the main building (building number N22, 8 floors, 40 m cornice height), the administrative building (N13, 33 m cornice height), the extension buildings N23 and N37, the east tower and the striking west tower (N21, 69 m cornice height) its antennae for radio link operation, which can be seen from afar. The inner courtyard was drivable and there was an underground car park. The Rundschau building , which was also demolished in 2006 and which housed the editorial office of the Frankfurter Rundschau , was located on the Große Eschenheimer Strasse . A replica of the entrance area of the Palais Thurn und Taxis, which had been demolished for the telecommunications tower, was also attached to the complex, which was used on an interim basis by Post Office 1 as an alternative counter hall for the public.
Illustrations
Exterior views
The telecommunications tower. Photo taken in 1995.
The Telecommunications Tower Complex 2003.
The skyscraper during the demolition in 2005.
Interior views
Telecommunications high-rise building N37, 6th floor, data converter station 0 Frankfurt
Telecommunication tower N37, 5th floor, main distributor of the data converter station Dust 0 Ffm
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 6 ′ 55.5 ″ N , 8 ° 40 ′ 50 ″ E