Whoever enters the Bethmannhof sees immediately: a lot has happened here. A huge red “M” is emblazoned to the right of the red sandstone entrance to the former private bank, with a “C” to the left. These are not just any illuminated letters, but rather ones with a history: the “M” comes from a store belonging to the former supermarket chain Tengelmann, the “C” from a Daimler Chrysler stand at an IAA in the Frankfurt Festhalle. Here they come together as initials into something new and are thus also signs of the transformation for the place that they now mark: the Massif Central in the former Bethmann Bank. As a complete lettering made of vintage illuminated letters, this is again above the bar at the rear end of the former counter hall, which is already open daily.
The lettering had already hung on a wall at the earlier location and place of origin in a former printing shop on Eschersheimer Landstraße. However, because this was only an interim use and the building had to make way for a new building, a new location was sought for the Massif Central and found in the Bethmannhof. The attempt by the creative industry cluster to establish a “House of Creativity and Innovation” had previously failed due to lack of funding. At the beginning of April, the Massif makers Florian Joeckel, Sven Seipp and Joachim Richter moved in to fill the approximately 8,000 square meter area with life. Or, as managing director Joeckel puts it, “first get the bank out of the bank”.