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City-Center

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thumb|Makkaratalo, the only completed part of the original City-Center plan thumb|right|A close-up view of Makkaratalo viewed from Keskuskatu, showing the characteristic "sausage" in the middle thumb|The Tallberg and Hermes buildings, which would have been demolished according to the original City-Center plan City-Center is a partly implemented plan to raze and rebuild the block between the central Helsinki streets of Kaivokatu, Keskuskatu and Aleksanterinkatu, creating a unified, modern appearance for the area. The plan was originally drafted between 1958 and 1960 by Viljo Revell; Heikki Cast

Wikidata facts

Instance of
building
Country
Finland
Located in
Helsinki
Location
Kluuvi
Image
Helsinki City Center3.jpg
Show 6 more facts
architect
Viljo Revell
Commons category
Makkaratalo
street address
Kaivokatu 6
inception
1967-01-01
post town
Helsinki
postal code
00100
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thumb|Makkaratalo, the only completed part of the original City-Center plan thumb|right|A close-up view of Makkaratalo viewed from Keskuskatu, showing the characteristic "sausage" in the middle thumb|The Tallberg and Hermes buildings, which would have been demolished according to the original City-Center plan City-Center is a partly implemented plan to raze and rebuild the block between the central Helsinki streets of Kaivokatu, Keskuskatu and Aleksanterinkatu, creating a unified, modern appearance for the area. The plan was originally drafted between 1958 and 1960 by Viljo Revell; Heikki Castrén continued work on the plan after Revell's death in 1964. The fulfillment of the plan would have required the demolition of several old buildings that are today considered to be a vital part of Helsinki's heritage.

The only part of the plan that was implemented as planned is the 1967 office and shopping centre building right across the street from the Helsinki Central railway station, popularly known as Makkaratalo, Finnish for "sausage house": the elevated parking lot occupying the third floor is encircled by a decorative railing which is said to resemble a sausage. The first occurrence of the name was in a caricature drawn by the Finnish cartoonist Kari Suomalainen in Helsingin Sanomat. In the cartoon, a man is buying food from a snack bar near the Makkaratalo. He points at the railing, and the snack bar vendor replies, ''"Well, I'm just a small-time businessman."''

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “City-Center” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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