Three small pools once defined this place. Now they are a park. Welcome to Dreipfuhlpark.
The Dreipfuhlpark’s origin goes back to the Ice Age. The area once consisted of three pools. The long space was turned into a park between 1935 and 1939. The district even named it Monument of the Month in July.
In earlier times the Dahlem domain surrounded the Ice Age depression. Farm animals quenched their thirst in these pools. Harvested grain was taken to the Dutch Mill on Schlettstadter Strasse.
Max Dietrich designed the park for a row house development planned in 1933. Dietrich was Zehlendorf’s district building director. The houses were to encircle the park in a horseshoe shape. Some of these were built on Garystrasse.
In the mid-1950s the Dreipfuhl housing area was built around the park. It was for US officers. These comfortable one-story bungalows have American-style front yards and garages on the side.
The main park entrance is on Garystrasse. There is a small lawn. It has geometrically planted horse chestnut trees. Next is a birch grove. A shelter was built there in 1936. It can protect 60 people from rain. Its thatched roof and wooden supports are meant to evoke a Nordic house from long ago.
The hut is on the highest point. From there you can see far across the valley landscape. Rectangular terraces with limestone walls mark the park’s edge. Until the early 2000s these terraces held flowers.
Dietrich turned the three pools into a pond. There is a peninsula in the middle. He wanted to preserve clear views. He planted the lawns with a few deciduous trees. These included oaks beeches and birches.
Shrubs line the edges of the park. They hide the fences of private gardens. A winding path runs through the park. Reeds and aquatic plants surround the pond. Willows and alders also grow there. The peninsula is densely planted. It shelters breeding water birds.
Dietrich envisioned connecting Dreipfuhl Thiel and Fischtal parks. This connection would have extended to the Teltow Canal. But the idea was never realized. Plans for a park café and concert garden also went unbuilt.
Before the Dreipfuhl housing area was built nurseries used the domain fields. One still exists on Clayallee. The Dreipfuhlpark has a unique history. The shelter should remind people of a Nordic house.
From 1956 to 1957 houses for American officers were built around Dreipfuhlpark. The urban design concept called for separate housing sections. These sections were based on military rank. Max Dietrich had already designed Dreipfuhlpark in 1935-36. A small house development had been considered then.
Thirty comfortable one-story flat buildings in the American bungalow style were constructed. They form a horseshoe around Dreipfuhlpark. These were intended for higher ranks. The twelve duplex houses on Ripleystrasse stand farther from the park. They were for lower-ranking staff officers.
The Headquarters Berlin Command commissioned the development. It was built in the style of an American suburb. The Engineer Division of the Americans and the Senate Department for Construction and Housing participated. Berlin architect Willy Ehrlichmann designed the duplex houses.
The Dreipfuhl settlement and its bungalows feature flat roofs. The single-story buildings have garages on the side. They also include open front yards designed after the American model. The interiors reflect the “American way of life”. The main room is an L-shaped living and dining area. It has large windows and an open fireplace. All bedrooms have built-in closets and two bathrooms. The two-story duplex houses share a similar open design. Each pair of houses is connected by double carports.
After the American armed forces withdrew many houses became private property. Yet the settlement’s uniform appearance remains today.