Can the demolition of a historically significant building be prevented by placing it under monument protection at the last minute? In the case of the old Pollinger art and building locksmith shop in Forstenried, the Thalkirchen-Obersendling-Forstenried-Fürstenried-Solln district committee wants to at least try. With a majority, the district committee passed an emergency motion in which the monument protection authorities are called upon to examine the designation of the locksmith’s shop as an individual monument and to also consider a neighboring former gas station, which now serves as a workshop.
The appeal is addressed to the local building commission to put the corresponding applications for preliminary approval for the demolition and the construction of a new residential complex on hold for the time being. The district committee is supported in its approach by the Forstenried Historical Association.
The properties in question are located at Forstenrieder Allee 146, 146a, 144b and at Fritz-Baer-Straße 2. The locksmith’s shop in particular is historically relevant to the district. It has existed since 1866 and once marked the entrance to Forstenried. Since 1936, the third generation of the master craftsman and building locksmith company has been producing grilles, gate systems, railings, fences and much more. According to the property owner’s plans, the metalworking shop, like the neighboring buildings, will make way for two apartment buildings. Johann Pollinger GmbH has already announced on its homepage “with regret” that it will cease operations by the end of the year. It would be the end of one of the city’s oldest craft businesses.
Local politicians and the Forstenried Historical Association do not want to stand idly by and watch this development. For them, maintaining the metalworking shop is more important than building a few apartments. In their view, designating the business at Forstenrieder Allee 146 as a monument would fit in perfectly with a street on which there are already other protected buildings, such as the Derzbachhof, the headquarters of the state forestry company, or the old school that Ludwig Thoma attended has. The authorities’ decision in this matter is open; in the meantime, the district committee’s “urgent” request is being examined.