Endless corridors, smashed windows, empty offices and a wing with tiled cells in which captured criminals had to wait for their interrogation. The old police headquarters in Frankfurt is one of the gruesome lost places in Germany.
Often the places that are in danger of decay are in the countryside. However, the police headquarters, which was completed between 1911 and 1914 during the imperial era, is centrally located in the Gallusviertel of the banking city, halfway between the main train station and the exhibition grounds.
In the early years the monomental building in the neo-baroque style was called “New Royal Police Headquarters at Hohenzollernhof”, today the street is called Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage and is a popular photo opportunity for “Urbexers”. This term stands for “Urban Exploration” – it means the discovery and photographic documentation of so-called lost places.
After the police headquarters moved into new premises in 2002, the city of Frankfurt argued about a new usage concept and the state of Hesse was looking for an investor. But the high selling price for the listed building deterred potential investors.
Celebrate in the ruins: “Club Presidium 19/11”
In the meantime, the abandoned building served as a film set, including for crime scene 609 with the title “Vacancy”. It was also possible to celebrate when the “Club Presidium 19/11” had moved in.
It was not until 2018 that the land and property went to the Düsseldorf Gerchgroup for 212 million euros, which will invest 800 million euros in the “Das Praesidium” project. The company has specialized in “residential and commercial real estate” and sees the old police headquarters as “one of the last major development areas in downtown Frankfurt.”
A realization competition has long been concluded. The demolition of the ugly annexes will begin next year and a high-rise building on the property will also shoot up by 2026. The historic building is being “revitalized”; offices and vacant and subsidized apartments are to be accommodated there.
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