The building at Kurfürstendamm 26 in Berlin, Germany was originally designed as a cinema. It opened in 1913 under the name Union Palace and was one of the first true movie theaters in the city.
In April 2000, the cinema was closed due to lack of visitors and the space saw only sporadic rental use since then. In September 2007, the “Microsoft Showroom” occupied the space to present “digital lifestyle” products. In other words, among Windows Media Center PCs, computer speakers and mice, Microsoft “showcased” pretend iPods that nobody wanted; something Microsoft called “Zune.” No, we never saw one in the wild, either.
Now, German-language site macnews.de, citing reliable sources, reports that Apple’s largest Apple Store in Germany will open within the historic walls this year. Up to 5,000 square meters of retail space are available.
Read more (via Yahoo! Babel Fish translation) in the full article, which includes photos of the building’s exterior, interior, and of the former “Microsoft Showroom,” here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nowadays, even retail spaces are upgrading from Windows to Macs.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Guido R.” for the heads up.]