Zurich - Bahnhofstrasse

The pulsating activity of Zurich is focused on the Bahnhofstrasse, a street 1,200 m/3,937ft long (most of it pedestrianized) which extends from the main station to the lake (landing stages). The middle section of the street was built in 1867 after the filling in of an old moat, the Fröschengraben; the lower part, towards the lake, was built from 1877 onwards, the upper part towards the station from 1885. Among the interesting buildings in the lower part, dating from the turn of the century are the Weber business premises (Nr. 75), built in 1899 by R. Kuder and A. Müller (re-built 1912-1913 and 1928) and the Jelmoli department store (Seidengasse 1) a complex of buildings which has been reconstructed several times; it was originally designed in 1897 by H. A. Stadler and J. E. Usteri with a skeleton in iron. The historic facade (1913-1916) of the Peterhof and Leuenhof premises was the work of the brothers O. and N. Pfister.