12 Comments Posted by frawggie

If it were arranged differently I'd say the tiling suggests a viewing room for a surgical suite or lecture hall. Wasn't there another gallery with a round viewing auditorium that had tiny tiles all over?

I agree this looks like a swimming pool. It could be re-purposed, originally designed as such and then they didn't need it and as it was the basement having been built first it was just adapted to meet needs?

per history channel - Berlin has a very high water table - and as such stuff underground floods regularly - and did during the war as well - and had to be pumped out regularly. Even in bunkers that were built on top of hills - the first floor above ground and any under flooded.

Janneke, that makes sense - given there were very few lights in these things (per history channel tv program on this bunker in particular) the glowing green paint and the words would likely signal to people inside there's a set of 5 steps down to the right so they don't fall - and cause more injuries.

The top 'rung' as you see was actually a place for a 3rd bunk. There was a story on history channel there were hammock type nets on some of the bunks. Almost all the images are of 3 high bedding - so it wouldn't surprise me if this was designed as a 3rd bed of some form - some sort of slats or sheet wood/metal maybe between the end pieces

OK looking at all these roof cave-in photos I think I know about when the cave-ins would have occurred.

A few years ago (ok probably like 7-8 now) there was a major 7-8' snowfall one night in Rochester - its likely that this was the cause of the major damage to the building.

Because I'd been around the building as part of a class/history walk type thing prior to the huge snowfall and I don't recall seeing any major roof/window damage like these show.

Truly surprising this was still there given how expensive these pieces of equipment are - even as a salvage piece - there are people who could/would use the piece in their home (if it was in working order).

The color wouldn't be too off putting to many.

Drugs and other things.
I've been both a patient & a visitor in similar settings and I know someone who worked there before they shut the building down. These type of lockups were used to hold things like medications, bandages, linens & other things they didn't want the patients having at random.
Likely the drugs were kept in locked cabinets - long since pulled for scrap - or moved to other buildings in the network.

Yay a set where I can say I've been at the site!! Awesome set!!

Wallpaper PLEASE!!

Reminds me of the early Resident Evil games, when you're interacting with the keys and doors - especially outdoor ones. Awesome shot - wallpaper by chance?

Does anyone know what the exterior of the building was made up of? It kind of resembles limestone but those buildings generally don't stain as badly as this shows - but I feel that could also be blamed on the coal dust mixing with rain water?

So pretty - I concur on the wallpaper!

Interesting note Buffalo Forge also made forged iron woodstoves and other forged iron products. My parents have one of the woodstoves - same logo is stamped into the face plate on one of the doors.

What an interesting history of this machine's use, and how it worked.