One of the most prominent building ensembles documenting the reconstruction of Berlin in the 1950s is located on Joachimstaler Straße between Kantstraße and Kurfürstendamm. The former bilka department store (today Karstadt Sport) and the new building of the already legendary Café Kranzler were erected here between 1956 and 1958 to plans by Hanns Dustmann. The original Café Kranzler building went up in 1932 as a replacement for the renowned "Café des Westens" but was subsequently destroyed during World War II.
Both buildings are listed and now form an ensemble with the New Kranzler-Eck. The Kranzler ground floor has been turned into a café passageway that leads to the interior courtyard of the New Kranzler-Eck. In the rotunda on the second floor, a new café & bar continues the tradition of the legendary coffee house.
