Wolf von Waldow – The History of the plot Talstraße 69–75, Hamburg St. Pauli

Research in context of the Art in Architecture project "Thalstraße" by Wolf von Waldow; 1999

The buildings were relatively spacious for their time. Since the street’s building line was apparently initially planned to be wider, the front houses were set slightly back, leaving space for small fenced forecourts or even front gardens. Shops were located on the ground floor. Although the terrace buildings of the individual plots were closely positioned at the rear, they had small, tree-lined utility gardens at the front. These were initially not workers’ quarters. Small craftsmen, employees, a striking number of “ship captains,” and also musicians lived here. The difference becomes clear when comparing this development with the much denser Jägerpassage two streets away, which had been intended for workers.

However, the quality of living deteriorated rapidly. Over time, the backyards were increasingly filled with workshops (1896: No. 73; No. 87/91), and the cellars were rented out as apartments. As a result, the social structure changed. By the 1880s, many workers already lived here. Individual houses fell into disrepair. In the 1920s, passersby, for example, complained about falling building parts at No. 73. It is no coincidence that Talstraße was one of the starting points for the hunger revolts in the spring of 1919. At the same time, however, this quarter – always under police suspicion – developed an unusually diverse, multi-ethnic lifestyle. For example, Schmuckstraße in the 1920s and early 1930s was a center of Chinese life in Hamburg.

The destruction of World War II affected only part of the buildings. Completely destroyed were only No. 65/67/69/71 – the front house of the terrace that existed until after 2000 – and No. 79 (terrace of No. 77/81). Partially destroyed was house No. 73/75 (front house and terrace). The remaining buildings survived the war more or less intact. Even partially destroyed houses were temporarily repaired because housing was scarce. From the early 1950s, property owners sought building permits for the reconstruction of their houses (1950: No. 65/67/69/71; 1958: No. 73/75). However, the city had other plans for the area.

A general restructuring of the entire district was planned. As part of this, a highway feeder road was to run across the area. At this point, however, the plans were probably still quite vague. To keep all options open, the city did everything possible to prevent new construction in the area. Legally, it had no basis for this, which was even admitted in internal administrative notes. Negotiations over a possible purchase of the plots were sometimes absurd: substitute plots were offered in exchange, even though the city did not yet own them; finally, purchase prices were agreed upon, but the city could not raise the funds (No. 73/75). Nevertheless, this strategy prevented the redevelopment of the area until the early 1960s. Only then did the city gradually purchase all the plots and demolish the houses, except for No. 67a (terrace to No. 65/67/69/71).

During this entire period, even the partial ruins were still inhabited. Tenants repeatedly applied for building materials for the most necessary repairs. Due to the catastrophic living conditions, the social authorities, of course, sought alternative housing – often against the explicit wishes of the residents, who did not want to leave the apartments they had sometimes occupied even before the war. Housing shortages were so severe that even vacated apartments had to be rendered “uninhabitable” until the second half of the 1950s to prevent new tenants from moving in. The highway feeder road was finally realized at the end of the 1960s as Simon-von-Utrecht-Straße. The other plans largely became obsolete due to lack of funds and probably also because they were politically unfeasible. It was only in the mid-1990s, thirty years after their evacuation, that the plots on Talstraße were redeveloped with residential buildings.

Thalstraße um 1900, Hamburg-St. Pauli; Blick von der heutigen Paul-Roosen/Clemens-Schultz-Str. Hausnummern 81-59, beginnend ab 3. Haus v. r.; 2. Haus v. r. heute noch erhalten

© Wolf v. Waldow, 1999