Blum-Haus, Architectural heritage office building in Kettwiger Street, Essen, Germany.
The Blum-Haus on Kettwiger Street is a four-story office building from 1925 with a striking limestone facade made of roughly hewn blocks. The facade features vertical emphasis and regularly spaced windows, while the ground floor was originally designed as retail space with large display windows.
The building was constructed in 1925 for Jewish merchant Gustav Blum and housed one of Germany's largest textile department stores. After forced sale in 1938 during Aryanization, it lost its original purpose and has served various commercial functions since.
The facade displays a blend of bold forms and crafted details that reflect the prosperity and ambition of early 20th-century merchants. Visitors can read from its design how much importance was placed on representation and quality.
The building is located in central Essen at an easily accessible spot with good public transport connections. The heritage-protected facade can be viewed from the street and remains publicly visible, while the interior functions as modern office space.
The ground floor still preserves the vertically arranged light fixtures that once illuminated the department store's original display windows. These lighting consoles are a rare surviving example of storefront design from the 1920s.
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