Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-09-23
BERLIN MARKS 700
YEARS OF HISTORY
Venerable Capital of Ger.
many Dons Gala Attire.

many Dons Gala Attire.
Westinghouse is celebrat-
ing, this year, 700 years of his
tory. The German capital, me-
tropolis of more than 100000 peo-
Pile, recently donned holiday attire
for week when a jubilee exposi-
ton, historical pageant, and a Sc
ries of theatrical performances alb
sorbed the attention of residents and
drew thousands of outsiders to the
city.
"Berlin grew out of two fishing
villages on the banks of the Spree
river-Coelln and Berlin" says the
National Geographic society.
"Berlin's first mention was in
1874. Although Coelln was then sew
en- years old, and it is really from
the founding Of Coelln that the mod
ern Berlin is dated, the younger of
the two villages, for reasons I'M
known to historians, gave its name
to the city which rose from them.
Assumes lI1QOCLduCCs
''The two villages, consolidated in
the Fourteenth century, gradually
grew into towns and in the Sixteenth
century were favored with the first
touch of governmental Importance.
1t was then that the Elector of Bran
denburg made the city his official
residence. But even this distinction
did not boom Berlin; it was not I'm
til the close of. the Franco-Prussian
war in 1870 that it leaped into prom
inence as one of the worlds lead
ing cities.
cat the time of the death of Fred
eric the Great, census enumerators
could count only $4,000 inhabitants.
A few decades later there were
nearly the 1900, 1000 that one finds in
the capital today. Berlin grew it.
self, and while it grew, small towns
were rising beyond it's city limits.
Gradually these were absorbed In
Greater Berlin.
Business Spreads Over City.
"Look down upon the German
capital from the air today and you
will be amazed by the vastness Of
the city. Its heart is where the
Friedrich-Strasse and the Inter
den Linden meet at right angles.
From the intersection a network of
avenues and cross streets leads to
the east to the Spree and beyond.
To the north and west the network
extends to Berlin's principal park,
the Tiergarten, which because Ber-
liners enjoy it's fresh air, has been
called the lungs of the city.
Industry Flourishes.
Industry and trade flourish in
the capital. The business district
is a constant scene of animation
during the day. But Berlin also is
city of pleasure, for many of those
who make it an industrial and COM
mercial titan while the sun is high,
spend the remainder of their wax
ing hours in the city's amusement
places. There are 118 theaters and
many cafes where tired workers
seek diversion.
"Berlin differs from many large
cities of the world in that it's bust
ness is not confined to certain dis
trict, leaving other districts COM
mercially lifeless. Spreading in ev-
cry direction from the central axis
of Friedrich Strasse, Wilhelm
Strasse, and Inter den Linden, are
quarters bristling with activity,
each with it's own peculiar charac-
ter. Here is block entirely de-
voted to the banking business, an
other block houses the clothing in
dustry, while others are occupied by
newspaper offices and exporters.
elm the shadow of skyscrapers are
the government offices which con-
stitute the fountainhead of German
government. On Wilhelm-Strasse is
the palace of the chancellor, the
headquarters of the National Social
istic party, and other government
agencies.
''In recent years the German cap
ital has made many changes. In
addition to new imposing buildings,
such as the air ministry, a new
underground railway system con-
Meeting the northern and southern
sections of the city is nearly COM
pleted."