City-Center is a partly implemented plan to raze and rebuild the block between the central

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

streets of

Kaivokatu Kaivokatu (Swedish: ''Brunnsgatan'') is a short street in central Helsinki, Finland. It runs past the Central Station and station square, connecting Mannerheimintie in the west with Mikonkatu in the east (after which the road continues as Kaisani ...

Keskuskatu , literally "Central Street" (Finland Swedish: ), is a two block-long pedestrian street in the centrally-located Kluuvi neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. Along the street are located (from south to north): the Stockmann department store, the ...

and

Aleksanterinkatu Aleksanterinkatu (; "Alexander Street") is a street in Kluuvi, the commercial centre of Helsinki, Finland. In the city plan by Carl Ludvig Engel, it was the ''Decumanus Maximus'', the main east–west street in the city, crossing the ''Cardo'', ...

, creating a unified, modern appearance for the area. The plan was originally drafted between 1958 and 1960 by

Viljo Revell Viljo Gabriel Revell (25 January 1910 – 8 November 1964) was a Finnish architect of the functionalist school. In Finland he is best known for the design of the Lasipalatsi ("Glass Palace") and Palace Hotel, both in Helsinki. Internationally ...

; Heikki Castrén continued work on the plan after Revell's death in 1964. The fulfillment of the plan would have required the demolition of several old buildings that are today considered to be a vital part of Helsinki's heritage. The only part of the plan that was implemented as planned is the 1967 office and shopping centre building right across the street from the

Helsinki Central railway station Helsinki Central Station (, ) (List of IATA-indexed railway stations, HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. About 200,000 people "pass through the station" every day, half of whom ar ...

, popularly known as ''Makkaratalo'', Finnish for "

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

house": the elevated

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

occupying the third floor is encircled by a decorative railing which is said to resemble a sausage. The first occurrence of the name was in a

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

drawn by the Finnish

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

Kari Suomalainen Kari Yrjänä Suomalainen (15 October 1920, in Helsinki – 10 August 1999, in Valkeakoski) was a famous Finnish political cartoonist, known as Kari. His cartoons appeared daily in ''Helsingin Sanomat'' from 1951 to 1991 and they became popula ...

in ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

''. In the cartoon, a man is buying food from a snack bar near the Makkaratalo. He points at the railing, and the snack bar vendor replies, ''"Well, I'm just a small-time businessman."'' Today, the term "City-Center" refers to the entire shopping complex consisting of the Makkaratalo, various older properties, and the pathways connecting them to the adjacent streets. However, the term is rarely used and is unfamiliar even to most natives of Helsinki. The Finnish real estate company Sponda bought the City-Center in 2000 and has extensively renovated it. The building is currently protected b
Finland's National Board of Antiquities
as part of the city's heritage. In 2005 a decision was made to place the building under protection, allowing removal of the car-ramps but not the "sausage". The Helsingin kaupunginmuseo (Helsinki city Museum Bureau) also concluded in a written statement that

The Makkaratalo reflects the Finnish ideology of planning in the 60's, e.g., the view that the city of Helsinki should prepare for a wider use of cars as part of becoming a modern metropolis. It is also a prime example of Viljo Revell's work. In the view of the Helsinkian, the Makkaratalo presents the perspective of everyday life. It has become a vital part of the Helsinki cityscape and a part of the collective memory of Helsinkians.

However, this view can not be considered to be widespread in Helsinki. The Makkaratalo is commonly considered an eyesore, and it has many years won the unofficial "Most Hideous Building in Helsinki" competition. There have been several public statements about its ugliness, considering its very central place. For instance, the former leader of the National Board of Antiquities has stated that he considers the building an ugly error in judgement in city-planning, and would not oppose its demolition.Helsingin Sanomat 2004 - Korpinen: Makkaratalo ehkä oikeuteen (requires rights for reading. The article is in Finnish)
/ref> The Makkaratalo also topped a 2004 poll by ''Helsingin Sanomat'' as the ugliest building in Helsinki. It was also featured in a 2005 series in ''Helsingin Sanomat'' about the oddest construction plans in the rapid growth of the 1960s.

References

External links

Official site
{{coord, 60, 10, 12, N, 24, 56, 31, E, display=title, region:FI-ES_type:landmark_source:fiwiki Buildings and structures in Helsinki Kluuvi fi:City-Center