Part One — Hidden Bars, Cafes, Restaurants
This first focus is on Berlin’s attraction to hidden spaces written in two parts.
I am so fascinated with the whole hinterhof (back courtyard) phenomenon in the architecture here. Some courtyards seem to keep expanding three or four times opening and narrowing around you and then sometimes leading one out onto another strasse. Buried in the hinterhofs, are café’s (another piece will be completely dedicated to cafe culture) stores, and art galleries among other commercial spaces that given the location have a private feel. However, there are more often than not residences in the hinterhofs.
And this hidden space extends to bars — café’s (need to note that there is not much difference between bars and café’s here unless it is a kneipe which is kind of a local pub otherwise the bar-café lines blur and people are drinking either at all times of day and evening.) and restaurants. There is a bar in Prenzlauer Berg – the 5-Z (actual name is 5 Ziegen but everyone calls it by the shortened name) and for ages — I have been told — they leave the front window in a way that looks like an empty vacant space complete with an abandoned overturned table, pushed over chairs and some garbage. The front is kept dark. But if you know, you push open the door anyway, head through the front dark room, through yet another dark room and finally see there is a bar here after all. (In this case, something like a pirate’s den).
And another example is the Paloma Bar in Kreuzberg. It is in a converted dentist office from what I could find out. From the outside the building looks unattractive — white, 70’s era architecture, vaguely looks like a space ship and appears completely vacant. In fact the ground floor, storefront is indeed vacant. My friend had been to this bar before and insisted against my disagreement — ’ I think if we just go inside to the second floor’ . But soon she doubted herself when we got to the second floor and it looked totally empty and no sounds — no voices, no music. A door to the left had a white frame and a long rectangle window that was covered on the inside by a black curtain or sheet. No signage of any kind. My friend just walked up and turned the knob — with a slight stick of the door we suddenly stumbled in to a cozy place with nice ambient light and a funny 1950’s kitschy decor– cool music playing fairly loudly (very sound proof space). We got a drink and within an hour or so the place was packed to the point where we couldn’t move.
The more subtle expressions of hidden or perhaps just coming from a laid-back attitude are the many cafes that don’t have names. At least no signage. And even menus — I’m thinking of a certain place where the menus are inside of old book covers and each page decorated with collages — where the name of the place can’t seem to be found. More attention to the cut-outs than to the name. I like this somehow. Anyway, my friends and I laugh about it all the time. When we make plans no one knows the name of anything and there are so many cafes, one after another down each side of the street.
I haven’t had so much experience with hidden restaurants. However, there is a great article on the subject in the New York Times that I recommend reading.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/travel/14headsup.html
In my encounters with hidden spaces I have never been disappointed. The unusual quality of the space — finding it, interacting with it has created very distinct memories of these places.
Check back for photos!!
Part Two will be devoted to art-related hidden spaces and in particular looking at temporary shows using temporary spaces.
Alas, I need to get photos of the places I mentioned above. Til then here are a few from a performance the other night 10/20/09. It took place at an unnamed location making use of a space in the process of renovation. This seems to be fairly common for temporary spaces. The line-up was the Matt Zivich Trio comprised of Matt Zivich and Jeremy Los (Chicago), and Sonic Youth’s drummer, Steve Shelley (!) + Sonic Youth played the following night 10/21/09 at Columbia Halle. Also playing were Tall Sirs and Nathan Baker (formerly Chicago, now Berlin). These last two joined in with the trio at the end. Great show.
Notice the construction (construction photo), raw space and stage, and again here a pile of broken cement coming from stage left.
