Claim: Market halls in Berlin began around 1884 with the building of three halls, the first being in the center of Berlin's Mitte neighborhood.
Evidence: Berlin-Mitte, on both sides of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße (now Karl-Liebknecht-Straße) near Alexanderplatz 1884–1886 and –1893 The Central Market Hall I (as it was first called) was the first shopping center built according to the municipal building program. It had ice-cold storage rooms in the cellar area and its own railway connection to deliver goods. Until 1893, the extension of the central market hall was built on the opposite side of the street (Central Market Hall Ia or II). The Central Market Hall parts survived the First World War and the economic crisis to a large extent without damage, only in 1944 it was ruined. The Hall I, rebuilt in need of help, helped provide the East Berlin population. Hall Ia was dismantled. In the 1960s the first market hall was also destroyed. Some parts were integrated into a new building at the same place. Friedrichstadt, Berlin-Mitte, Lindenstraße 97/98 / Friedrichstraße 18 1884–1886 Friedrichstadt, Berlin-Mitte, Zimmerstraße 90/91 1884–1886 Dorotheenstadt, Berlin-Mitte, Reichstagufer corner of Dorotheenstraße 1884–1886 By the year 1900, there were 14 market halls (or market houses) in Berlin.