Leipzig's Alte Messe.

I hadn't planned on blogging today but I was looking through some old photographs and noticed that it was exactly 20 years ago that I took these of the Soviet Pavilion in Leipzig.

This was  my first experience of urban exploration and it happened by accident. I'd been in Leipzig a couple of weeks by this stage and I'd noticed the shiny gold tower red star in the sky-line and was intrigued to go and visit.  I was initially quite disappointed to see that the buildings were in an abandoned state but soon enjoyed wondering around and taking photographs.
Leipzig has featured in this blog before, with the Paulinekirche being an example of cultural heritage destroyed by the GDR, this time it's the symbols of communism which are shown in a forlorn state.

Leipzig has been famous for its trade fair since the Middle Ages and continues to be so today. The old trade fair complex (Alte Messe) was built in 1913, the Soviet Pavilion being added 12 years later though it didn't get its distinctive look until 1950 taking inspiration from 1930s Moscow architecture. The Pavilion, otherwise known as Halle 12 (Exhibition hall 12) was just one part of the trade fair centre. The card below showing the full extent of the complex.

The next card dates from the mid 1950s and shows people visiting a Sports and Gymnastics exhibition. I don't have any cards depicting the inside but there are photos around on the web if you wish to look.

I don't know when the next postcard is from but I like that it acts as a contrast to my photo, showing construction rather than destruction.

The trade fair moved location in 1996 and the old complex was largely abandoned, though I seem to remember that one of the neighbouring exhibition halls was being used as a supermarket when I was there.
 The steps to exhibition hall 12 are still cordoned off but as it's a protected building it has not, in fact it cannot, be destroyed. I believe that the building is currently being sanitised and plans are afoot for the city archives to be moved there next year. I will update you on that when I know more, but in the time the gold tower and red star remain a symbol of a particular chapter in Leipzig's fascinating history.

A Tale of Two City's Ferris Wheels.

I was reading recently about Linda Ducharme, an American lady who married a Ferris Wheel and while I wouldn't go that far I do think they make an attractive subject for postcards. Also they're not hard to find so it's relatively easy  to build up a collection.
Fortunately for me, there are a fair few famous former Ferris wheels for fantastic future features.

Today I'm just going to look at two of them. The Grande Route de Paris (Great Wheel of Paris) and London's Great Wheel.

There was a period of just 7 years  (1900 -1907)when the two of them existed at the same time. The Great Wheel was built first, being constructed in 1894 and opening a year later for the Empire of India Exhibition in Earls Court.
The 308ft by207 ft. structure had 40 cars which held about 40 passengers each and a revolution took about 20 minutes, apart from for some poor passengers in 1896 who got stuck there for 4 and 1/2 hours when the drive mechanism broke. This doesn't seem to have put people off as the wheel remained in service until 1906, by which time around   2.5 million passengers had enjoyed the ride. It was dismantled a year later and nearby trains were stopped especially for passengers to witness the event which took about 6 hours in total.
This particular card was sent in 1905, so towards the end of The Great Wheel's life.

I don't normally post the back, but the phrases "have written to M" and "Dear 7" caught my eye. Could a proto James Bond have written this? Perhaps not as they would be unlikely to be so blatant as to which train they are getting. Unless it's a double bluff.

The Grande Route de Paris was built in 1900, also for an exhibition, the Exposition Universalle. At the time of opening it was, at 328ft tall, the largest Ferris Wheel in the world, a record in held until 1989 when the Cosmo Clock 21 was opened.
In 1920, the decision was made to dismantle the wheel. A far cry from the hustle, bustle and  optimism the Exposition Universalle which had 50 million visitors, the cars were used to house French families made homeless by WWI and the rest was sold for scrap. A few remnants remained until 1937 before also being sold for scrap.
It was  a popular postcard for American soldiers stationed in France to send home, but my card is postally unused.