Watergate

Ulrich Wombacher, Steffen Hack and Niklas Eichstädt opened Watergate in October 2002 beside the Oberbaumbrücke, in a building with the river running along one side. Upstairs had a ceiling of responsive LEDs, a system Time Out credits as the first of its kind and which plenty of clubs have since copied. Downstairs, the Waterfloor had panorama windows level with the Spree and a floating deck outside, so that sunrise over Kreuzberg arrived as part of the programme. DJ Mag gave the capacity as 800, small by the standards of its Berlin neighbours. In September 2024 the owners announced they would not renew the lease, with Wombacher citing inflation, energy costs and rent. A run of closing parties went from the October birthday to New Year's Eve 2024, when the doors shut after 22 years. Watergate Records and the brand carry on without the room. Somebody later put a gravestone outside. Ask any house DJ who played that lower floor at dawn and you will get a long answer.