4. The 520 Madison Avenue Berlin Wall

520 Madison Avenue

In 1990, Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer purchased a piece of the Berlin Wall from the East German government. It was originally installed next to the popular Paley Park, situated on 53rd Street near Madison Avenue. The five colorful panels that make up this part of the Berlin Wall were visible from the sidewalk until 2014 when they vanished. They reappeared in the lobby of 520 Madison Avenue, in an effort to preserve the historic slabs from weather and further decay, but have since disappeared again.

This particular piece is what gave the forthcoming documentary “The American Sector” its biggest pause. This was the piece director Pacho Velez passed by regularly, but he wasn’t able to locate it. According to a Wall Street Journal article from this week, a real estate company spokesperson said it was moved from the lobby and is in storage. We have reached out to Tishman Speyer for an answer on if or when it will return.