Chapter 6
After the war, the house was used as a distribution centre for food; vegetables were grown in the garden. In 1946, a district-run kindergarten and after-school care centre moved in. In 2003, this use was discontinued after a fire on the first floor.
In the following years, various visions for the site were developed. Financing the urgently needed repairs proved to be a challenge. In 2006, the district office concluded a usufruct agreement with the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin. By 2011, the foundation had removed the second floor and restored the building’s exterior. However, the foundation was unable to secure financing for the interior work. The usufruct agreement was therefore dissolved in 2012.
Kindergarten in Schoeler Schlösschen
The district-run daycare center last cared for 40 after-school children and 47 kindergarten children. Already in the 1950s, there were voices criticizing this use of the building and expressing a desire for culture in Schoeler Schlösschen.
Museum Charlottenburg Wilmersdorf
Construction site café in Schoeler Schlösschen
Until August 2011, the ground floor was used as a café by the non-profit organization Lebenswege. Temporary exhibitions and concerts were also held there.
Photo: Wolfgang Reuss, 2010
3D model of the planned Johannes Rau Library
The utilization concept of the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin envisioned a café in the Schoeler Schlösschen in addition to the library. The Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmerdorf planned an exhibition on the history of the building and National Socialism in Wilmerdorf.
Brochure Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin, 2007
From 2012 onwards, the future of the site was once again unclear. An application by the district for funding from the Lotto Stiftung in 2014/15 for its redevelopment into a socio-cultural center was rejected. In 2015, a Schoeler Schlösschen citizens‘ initiative was founded, which aimed to use the site as a self-managed cultural center.
From 2019, the neighborhood was actively involved in the concept development process by the district as part of a two-stage participation procedure. In 2018, the district provided investment funds amounting to 3.5 million euros.
In 2019, the federal „Sanierung kommunaler Einrichtungen in den Bereichen Sport, Jugend und Kultur“ added another €1.575 million for barrier-free renovation. The construction work was completed in 2025.
On the way to a new use
In two workshops in June 2019, visions for the future of the site were developed. Forty residents took part in each of the district participation process. The results were incorporated into the new utilization concept for the site.
Photo: Katja Baumeister-Frenzel, KulturGut, 2019
Schoeler Berlin – Kunsthaus für Alle
In 2019 and 2020, the Schoeler Schlösschen was used as a gallery. The history of the house and its surroundings served as a starting point for artistic exploration. Bettina Weiß’s paintings refer to the wall decorations in the Schoeler family’s living room around 1900.
Exhibition BILD (2020) curated by Oliver Möst: Bettina Weiß, “Tare #5,” “Eileen #3,” “Eileen #2,” “Briel,” “Tare #6” Acrylic, oil, ink on canvas and wood, 2019.
Photo: Oliver Möst
Wall detail before renovation
Today, so called „architectural windows“ allow a view of the rooms‘ earlier color schemes. But no traces of the kindergarten remained.
Photo: Piotr Bialoglowicz, 2018
Fragments of corbels on the front facade, plaster, around 1934
On the facade, the corbels and the shell ornaments above the windows display a late Baroque design language. When the second floor was added in 1934 and then demolished in 2010, the building fabric was significantly altered. All of the corbels were removed twice and reattached at the height of the modified roof.
Baroque house with emergency roof
During the war, large parts of the roof were damaged.
A emergency roof, which was replaced several times, did not adequately protect the building structure. For over 60 years, the appearance of the Schoeler Schlösschen was marked by war damage.
View of the backyard around 1980
The linden tree-lined avenue behind the house, which had already existed under Schoeler, was only partially preserved, and the Baroque-style exit had been replaced by a practical exit.
The appearance was now dominated by the daycare center’s playground equipment. The children liked to use the park’s roundabout as a race track.
Photo: Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersodorf
Plan for the renovation of the building
The planned removal of the second floor was the subject of heated debate. After lengthy discussions, the district councel and the monument protection authority approved the removal. In 2010, the topping-out ceremony for the new roof truss was celebrated.
From: Report on the construction history of the Schoeler Schlösschen and the restoration concept by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin, June 2, 2006
Interior view during renovation
After extensive research into the building structure, the interior renovation, carried out in accordance with historic preservation guidelines, began in 2021. The historic staircase was restored and an extension now leads to the newly constructed attic. An additional elevator allows barrier-free access to the building.
Photo: Piotr Bialoglowicz, 2018