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LATEST VERSION OF THIS PAGE | LATEST SITE UPDATE LIST | THE NEW HOMEPAGE
UPDATED 081813 | ADDED 091311 | BERLIN, GERMANY | RETURN TO THE MAIN FUTURO HOUSE ARTICLE | RETURN HOME
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Siedl, Wilhelmstrand 240, 12459 Berlin, Germany [Approximate] | 52°28'40.59"N 13°29'54.33"E
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Google Maps | Satellite Imagery Date 072412
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Additional Videos, Images & Maps
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Notes, History & Resources
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Update 081813
The four photos below are [from top to bottom]:
"ADN-ZB Spremberg 31.03.1974 Berlin: Sunday fun in Berlin Cultural Park: Round and round the world is ready to hit the bobsled track of the Culture Park in Plänterwald the East German capital Berlin. The warm spring weather attracted thousands of onlookers and "active" in the popular entertainment venue." 
Update 081713
Additional Images:
The Berlin Futuro forms part of the "backdrop" for a German TV series for children "Terra Max". The two photos below, from nalepastrasse.de, show the Futuro as seen in the TV show as do the two videos below the photos. 
Update 081112 manuela.martin posted a really awesome set of four black and whites of the Berlin Futuro on Flickr. The images were taken 062412 [which becomes the confirmed date for this Futuro]. These images are displayed here with Manuela's permission. Thank you Manuela. 
Update 072212 Screen Capture from Bing Maps 072212 showing Futuro 013 on the new site south of the previous location. 
Original Images 091311 A short video taken from a boat on the Spree River. 
I don't often use Bing Maps but on this occaision since there was no Street View in Google Maps I took a look. There was actually a really nice "Bird's Eye" view there so I grabbed this screen shot. If you would like to check out the interactive map you can access it here. 
Source: Schockwellenreiter | CC 2.0 
Source: mompl | CC 2.0 
Source: mompl | CC 2.0
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Update 081713
The Berlin Futuro has been used as a set in a German TV show. The TV show is "Terra Max", an educational show for children. A little information about the show can be found on the website nalepastrasse.de [German | English translation by Google Translate here]. A couple of photos from the web page are shown at left along with a pair of videos; all of these show the Futuro as seen in the TV show. Google Translate is a great tool but even with that it is not always easy to accurately interpret websites in languages you do not speak. In this case Achim Breiling, who does speak the language, sent me some information about the show. Achim tells me that: "(the show) is a kind of history program for children and features a boy whose grandfather has invented a time machine. In each episode they transport some historic person into the present. They ask him questions, show him the future and then we are told many things about this person and (his) time." Achim goes on to explain that: "they use (the Berlin) Futuro as the place where the time machine is located. It is the future house (in which) the grandfather, a kind of mad scientist, lives and works." The Futuro serves as a backdrop for many scenes and the interior has been staged as the "mad scientist's laboratory". Cora Geißler, the Futuro's owner, works on the series as "Requisiteurin" [Property Mistress according to Google Translate] which could help explain how the Futuro ended up with its role in the TV series. Update 072212 Futuro 013 has been relocated to a position around 1000 feet south of the location I had previously reported. At the time I originally added this page to the site the latest satellite imagery available in Google Earth was dated 050406. Imagery now available in Google Earth dated 123108 now places the Futuro at the new location. The latest imagery in Google earth places the Futuro still on site at the new location as of 082010. Old Cordinates | 52°28'53.12"N 13°29'50.45"E New Cordinates | 52°:28'40.59"N 13°29'54.33"E Moved sometime between 050406 and 123108 This capture from Google Maps shows both locations [Green Arrow old location | White arrow new location]. 
This is a screenshot from Google Maps taken when the Futuro was still on the older site. 
Original Information 091311 After a brief stop at the Hanover Trade Fair of 1968 Futuro #13 was located at Spreepark in Berlin. Originally opened in 1969 and then known as "Kulturpark Plänterwald" the park was the first cultural park in the then German Democratic Republic or, as it was better known to most, East Germany. The intention for the Futuro was that it would serve as the park's radio station - I cannot find anything that indicates whether it did or not. In 1989 the park was updated and a new operating contract was awarded to Spreepark Berlin GmbH in 1991. From 1989 to 2001 the park was known as Spreepark Berlin. In 2001 following financial problems the park became insolvent and shortly after being abandoned it began to fall into a state of disrepair. The current owner, Cora Geißler, found "#13" in a junkyard at the abandoned site in 2002, purchased it and had it moved to its current location on the banks of the Spree where it is used as a vacation home [I believe - a blog post - in Italian according to Google Translate - described it as a "dacha" which is a Russian word for a second, or vacation, home - seems odd to find an Italian article using a Russian word to describe a German home but it's a funny old world sometimes]. In an article entitled "How I Learned To Love A UFO" Cora describes the discovery of the Futuro this way: "Discovered I had the enchanted object in a walk through the deserted theme park in the eastern Berlin district of Treptow, in the junkyard of a former amusement park: an entity like a flying saucer of about eight meters in diameter, elliptical in outline and oval windows, in addition to high stilts standing, which also awarded him the impression of a lunar module. I had discovered something special, that much was clear to me immediately. To rescue the idea of ??the fascinating object from its surroundings sad, since I did not go away. Could you make it into an ice-cream, with ice cream in the most vivid colors imaginable: wild ideas circling in my head? A cafe on the banks of the Spree, hungry for boat trippers on their way to Müggelseedamm? But one thing was quite clear to me: I wanted to save this UFO." Note: the quote is a Google Translate version from the original German. The article is well worth a read and not only speaks to Cora's passion for "#13" but also provides some interesting history, details of the move and some information about the restoration. The article ends by indicating that you can email Futuro13@berlin.de to inquire about visiting the fully restored "#13". It seems that there is at least one group of people who have ambitions pertaining to "#13". In a Huffington Post article Argentinean artist Agustina Woodgate, one of a group attempting to breathe new life into the abandoned park, indicates that a goal of the group is to bring the Futuro back to the park; bring "#13" home if you like. It will be interesting to see if they achieve this given Cora Geißler's seeming passion for the Futuro. Sources & Reference
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Got new, updated or corrected information or an image I could use?
I am always looking for additional information, history, details, images, videos; just about anything Futuro I guess - if you would like to contribute please use the Futuro Contact Form at the bottom of the main article or email me. As far as images go I am particularly interested in those that are either significantly better than the ones already on this page or show a different aspect or detail. If you own an image meeting one or both of those criteria I would love to be able to use it on this page but I will simply provide a link if that is your preference. Where permission is granted to use an image on the page appropriate attribution will be provided by means of a link to the original image, a link to a website of your choosing or both. |
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