Babewyn
schwerinstr-13_2020-08-10_847x1100
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schwerinstr-13_2022-09-10...
Schwerinstrasse 13, Berlin-Schoeneberg. Up until 1930 "ladies balls" were held in the Toppkeller, located in the the basement of a rear building of the original structure at Schwerinstrasse 13.
Balls were very popular leisure past-times at the turn of the century and during the first half of the 20th century. There were ballrooms that both organized balls on their own and made their premises available to third parties for a fee. Admission was often free. "Dance cards" were distributed instead, and a fee was charged for each dance in which a guest took part. Until the 1950s, music was played by an orchestra or a band, table service was provided, and ballrooms were lavishly decorated. In addition to the expected evening wear, mottos were often set for the balls and no entry was granted without a suitable costume. As a result, a visit to the Ballhaus was expensive and regular visits were only affordable for a very small economic class. Most people's incomes were low. For example, an employees of such ballrooms earned around 200 Marks a month. A small apartment near Yorckstrasse at the time cost about 50 Marks a month. As a result, establishments with lower income clientele sought ways to generate more revenue. One way of fattening the till was to encourage the patronage of so-called "Zechenmacher" (big spenders, literally "bill makers"), who were generally non-queer voyeurs. This being the case, the presence of sex workers could also boost business. Thus, the atmosphere in a basement locale like Toppkeller was different than in the fancier more exclusive ballrooms, where one tended to be more entre nous (both regarding queerness and regarding social class).
The building on the left in the photo was built in the 1980s. The original building would have been nearly identical to number 12 next door, on the right in the photo, as nearly all of the buildings along this stretch of road were of the type hurriedly constructed in the last one third of the 19th Century to precariously house the hundreds of thousands of rural poor hoping to better their situation in one of sweatshops of the new Capital of the Reich.
schwerinstr-13_2020-08-10_847x1100
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schwerinstr-13_2022-09-10...
Schwerinstrasse 13, Berlin-Schoeneberg. Up until 1930 "ladies balls" were held in the Toppkeller, located in the the basement of a rear building of the original structure at Schwerinstrasse 13.
Balls were very popular leisure past-times at the turn of the century and during the first half of the 20th century. There were ballrooms that both organized balls on their own and made their premises available to third parties for a fee. Admission was often free. "Dance cards" were distributed instead, and a fee was charged for each dance in which a guest took part. Until the 1950s, music was played by an orchestra or a band, table service was provided, and ballrooms were lavishly decorated. In addition to the expected evening wear, mottos were often set for the balls and no entry was granted without a suitable costume. As a result, a visit to the Ballhaus was expensive and regular visits were only affordable for a very small economic class. Most people's incomes were low. For example, an employees of such ballrooms earned around 200 Marks a month. A small apartment near Yorckstrasse at the time cost about 50 Marks a month. As a result, establishments with lower income clientele sought ways to generate more revenue. One way of fattening the till was to encourage the patronage of so-called "Zechenmacher" (big spenders, literally "bill makers"), who were generally non-queer voyeurs. This being the case, the presence of sex workers could also boost business. Thus, the atmosphere in a basement locale like Toppkeller was different than in the fancier more exclusive ballrooms, where one tended to be more entre nous (both regarding queerness and regarding social class).
The building on the left in the photo was built in the 1980s. The original building would have been nearly identical to number 12 next door, on the right in the photo, as nearly all of the buildings along this stretch of road were of the type hurriedly constructed in the last one third of the 19th Century to precariously house the hundreds of thousands of rural poor hoping to better their situation in one of sweatshops of the new Capital of the Reich.