Editing Checkpoint Charlie (section)

==Today: Tourist and memorial site==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-1110-018, Berlin, Checkpoint Charlie, Nacht des Mauerfalls.jpg|thumb|On the night of 9 November 1989 when a part of the Wall was opened]]
Although the wall was opened in November 1989 and the checkpoint booth removed on 22 June 1990,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/june-22-1990-checkpoint-charlie-closes-13828673 |title=June 22, 1990: Checkpoint Charlie Closes |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=21 June 2011 |archive-date=2 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202142335/http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/june-22-1990-checkpoint-charlie-closes-13828673 |url-status=live }}</ref> the checkpoint remained an official crossing for foreigners and diplomats until [[German reunification]] in October 1990.

Checkpoint Charlie has since become one of Berlin's primary [[tourist attraction]]s, where some original remnants of the border crossing blend with reconstructed parts, memorial and tourist facilities.

The guard house on the American side was removed in 1990; it is now on display in the open-air museum of the [[Allied Museum]] in Berlin-[[Zehlendorf (Berlin)|Zehlendorf]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alliiertenmuseum.de/en/3_1_2.php |title=Allied Museum Berlin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621035305/http://www.alliiertenmuseum.de/en/3_1_2.php |archive-date=21 June 2008}}</ref> A copy of the guard house and the sign that once marked the border crossing was reconstructed later on roughly the same site. It resembles the first guard house erected during 1961, behind a sandbag barrier toward the border. Over the years this was replaced several times by guard houses of different sizes and layouts. The one removed in 1990 was considerably larger than the first one and did not have sandbags.

Tourists used to be able to have their photographs taken for a fee with actors dressed somewhat as Allied [[military police]] standing in front of the guard house but Berlin authorities banned the practice in November 2019 stating the actors had been exploiting tourists by demanding money for photos at the attraction.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
[[File:Berlin Wall Location plaque.jpg|thumb|Former Berlin Wall marker]]
The course of the former wall and border is now marked in the street with a line of cobblestones.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}  An open-air exhibition was opened during the summer of 2006. Gallery walls along Friedrichstraße and Zimmerstraße give information about escape attempts, how the checkpoint was expanded, and its significance during the [[Cold War]], including the confrontation of Soviet and American tanks in 1961, and an overview of other important memorial sites and museums about the [[History of Germany since 1945#The division of Germany|division of Germany]] and the wall.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Developers demolished the last surviving major original Checkpoint Charlie structure, the East German watchtower, in 2000, to make way for offices and shops. The city tried to save the tower but failed, as it was not classified as a historic landmark,{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} but the development was never realised.

New plans since 2017 for a hotel on the site stirred a professional and political debate about appropriate development of the area. After the final listing of the site as a protected heritage area in 2018, plans were changed towards a more heritage-friendly approach,<ref>{{cite news |last=Eddy |first=Melissa |title=At Checkpoint Charlie, Cold War History Confronts Crass Commercialism |newspaper=The New York Times |date=5 February 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/world/europe/checkpoint-charlie-berlin-cold-war.html |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211020448/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/world/europe/checkpoint-charlie-berlin-cold-war.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but the area between Zimmerstraße and Mauerstraße/Schützenstraße remains vacant, providing space for a number of temporary tourist and memorial uses.

===BlackBox Cold War Exhibition===
The "BlackBox Cold War" exhibition has illuminated the division of Germany and Berlin since 2012. The free open-air exhibition offers original Berlin Wall segments and information about the historic site. However, the indoor exhibition (entrance fee required) illustrates Berlin's contemporary history with 16 media stations, a movie theatre and original objects and documents. It is run by the NGO ''Berliner Forum fuer Geschichte und Gegenwart e.V..''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.berlin.de/mauer/en/sites/museums-and-exhibitions/black-box-exhibition-on-the-cold-war/ |title=Black Box Cold War |date=25 May 2016 |website=www.berlin.de |access-date=15 October 2019 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015213130/https://www.berlin.de/mauer/en/sites/museums-and-exhibitions/black-box-exhibition-on-the-cold-war/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Checkpoint Charlie Museum===
[[File:Berlin-Mauermuseum am Checkpoint Charlie.jpg|thumb|[[Checkpoint Charlie Museum]]]]
Near the location of the guard house is the ''[[Checkpoint Charlie Museum|Haus am Checkpoint Charlie]]''. The "Mauermuseum - Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie" was opened on 14 June 1963{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} in the immediate vicinity of the Berlin Wall. It shows photographs and fragments related to the separation of Germany. The border fortifications and the "assistance of the protecting powers" are illustrated. In addition to photos and documentation of successful escape attempts, the exhibition also showcases escape devices including a hot-air balloon, escape cars, chair lifts, and a mini-submarine.

From October 2004 until July 2005, the [[Freedom Memorial]], consisting of original wall segments and 1,067 commemorative crosses, stood on a leased site.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4730106 |title=Berlin Council Targets 'Checkpoint Charlie' Memorial |publisher=NPR |access-date=5 April 2018 |archive-date=26 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126185235/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4730106 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.orte-der-einheit.de/en/checkpoint-charlie ''Checkpoint Charlie: Between Memorials and Snack Bars''.] In: [https://www.orte-der-einheit.de/en/ Sites of Unity] ([[Haus der Geschichte]]), 2022.</ref>

The museum is operated by the ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August e. V.'', a registered association founded by Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt. The director is [[Alexandra Hildebrandt]], the founder's widow. The museum is housed in part in the "House at Checkpoint Charlie" building by architect [[Peter Eisenman]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

With 850,000 visitors in 2007, the Checkpoint Charlie Museum is one of the most visited museums in Berlin and in Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.berlin.de/tourismus/fotos/sehenswuerdigkeiten-fotos/3331172-1355138.gallery.html?page=4 |title=Museen in Berlin: Die Top Ten – 4. Platz 4: Mauermuseum - Haus am Checkpoint Charly |date=4 July 2014 |website=www.berlin.de |access-date=6 November 2017 |archive-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107010959/https://www.berlin.de/tourismus/fotos/sehenswuerdigkeiten-fotos/3331172-1355138.gallery.html?page=4 |url-status=live}}</ref>