Stories & Lifestyle: The new US Embassy in Berlin

Today, on the 4^th of July – the American Independence Day – in a festive ceremony the new US embassy in Berlin is being opened. German chancellor Angela Merkel will be there, as well as former US President George H. W. Bush and 4,000 invited guests.

The entire American Dream team would like to congratulate the US on the opening of the new embassy and is proud to have a double page in the program brochure for the embassy opening ceremony.

The embassy was supposed to be opened nine years ago, but at the time, US Congress refused to fund the project. In addition, the United States demanded a considerable ‘stand-off’ distance between the building and the surrounding streets – which would have made part of the Pariser Platz a restricted area. It was finally agreed upon to leave the Pariser Platz as it is, but move the Behrenstrasse at the south side of the building to create a larger distance between public street and embassy. Only after that could construction finally begin.

At last also the blueprints for the new building were adjusted to Berlin’s standards in a diplomatic feat. Now the US embassy is not very much higher than the neighboring buildings and it has, as requested by Berlin, a limestone façade and traditional-looking windows. At least on Pariser Platz and the Behrenstrasse it also has a consistent building line with the rest of the street, only on Ebertstrasse the façade is a little further back to comply with the strict security regulations of the State Department in Washington. So, no bossy gesture, no bragging display by the “hyper power,” but more an almost modest building, at least compared to the former Soviet Embassy on Unter den Linden.

This architectural diplomacy, however, is due less to the moderating influence of Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has chosen this location for the embassy himself, but more to the American wish for representation. Instead of moving to the suburbs where the embassy could have been protected a lot better against terrorist attacks, the US government wanted to be present in the center of Berlin, on the last remaining empty lot on Pariser Platz, in the same place where the embassy had been in 1939, with an excellent view of the dome of the Reichstag, the Quadriga, the holocaust memorial and just a few steps away from the chancellery.

Above all, the embassy has to serve two conflicting purposes: it has to have the highest security standards and it has to be an open house at the same time, since more then half of the 500 embassy employees are going to move into the new building. Further locations are on Clayalle with the consular office (that was originally supposed to be part of the new building), and parts of the administration are in Dahlem. Amabassador Timken said about the move to the $120 million, four and a half storey building by Moore Ruble Yudell from Santa Monica that it was a great location and a special one and they were happy to move there. Now, the security measures are obvious: the entire building is surrounded by pollards, those waist-high steel tubes with concrete core rum from the Gehry building on Behrenstrasse around the corner and up to the Brandenburg Gate on Ebertstrasse. There, a compact steel fence protects the embassy building and two dozen plate-shaped lamps illuminate the façade from this side.

The opening ceremonies take place on the 60^th anniversary of the Berlin airlift in June and the foundation of the Federation of German-American clubs 60 years ago, the official host of the Amerikafest 2008 on July 5 at the Brandenburg Gate. The Amerikafest will be celebrated from 12 noon to 10pm on Strasse des 17. Juni from Yitzhak-Rabin Strasse over Pariser Platz to the intersection of Unter den Linden/Wilhelmstrasse. The biggest part of the celebration will be on Pariser Platz with the main stage. Smaller stages will be on Strasse des 17. Juni. Numerous institutions and organizations from both sides of the Atlantic will be have their booths on Strasse des 17. Juni. On Pariser Platz and Unter den Linden (up to Wilhemstrasse), you will find German and American specialties in the form of snacks, beverages, meals and refreshments – from hot dogs over chili, spare ribs and hamburgers to US drinks and exotic Mai Tais. Have fun!:)