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Berlin-Tempelhof Neon Sign Reinstalled After Yearlong Restoration

A €210,000 SIWA-funded restoration preserved the original neon to prepare the landmark for illumination this week.

Overview

  • The 43-meter-long, two-meter-high lettering returned to the terminal roof on October 13 and is expected to glow in light blue by Thursday or Friday.
  • Restorers used a non-invasive, conservation-led approach, retaining historic material and replacing only 12 of 213 custom neon tubes.
  • Heckmann GmbH & Co. KG completed the work in a Hoppegarten workshop under Tempelhof Projekt GmbH oversight, with funding drawn from the city’s SIWA program.
  • The reinstalled sign is a small milestone within a multi-year concrete and roof rehabilitation of concourses A1/A2 covering about 21,000 square meters, budgeted at roughly €32 million and targeting first-half completion by early 2027.
  • Debate over the site’s future continues, with about 120,000 square meters currently rented to the police and a developer’s updated proposal for a sunken congress and events center on the forecourt under discussion.