Consulate General of the United States, Hamburg

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Consulate General of the United States in Hamburg
The White House of Hamburg[1]
Consulate General of the United States, Hamburg is located in Hamburg
Consulate General of the United States, Hamburg
Shown within Hamburg
Consulate General of the United States, Hamburg is located in Germany
Consulate General of the United States, Hamburg
Consulate General of the United States, Hamburg (Germany)
General information
TypeDiplomatic mission
Architectural styleHistoricism
LocationHamburg,Germany
AddressAm Alsterufer 27/28
20254 Hamburg
Germany
Coordinates53°33′43″N9°59′48″E/ 53.561944°N 9.996667°E/53.561944; 9.996667
Construction started1882 and 1893
OwnerU.S. Government
Design and construction
Architect(s)Martin Haller

TheConsulate General of the United States of America in Hamburgis adiplomatic missionrepresenting the United States of America to the city of Hamburg and the State of Schleswig Holstein in the Federal Republic ofGermany.TheGovernment of Hamburgcounts the promotion of the then Vice-Consul John Parish to the rank of a consul in 1793 as the establishment of the first mission.[2]The consulate-general represents the interests of the United States government in theGerman statesof Hamburg,Bremen,Lower Saxony,Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,andSchleswig-Holstein.[3]

History[edit]

I do hereby pray and request the Governors, Burgomasters andSenate of the Imperial free City Hamburgh,to permit the said John Parish fully and peaceably to enjoy and exercise the said Office (Vice Consul), without giving or suffering to be given unto him any Molestation or Trouble, but on the contrary to afford him all the proper Countenance and Assistance; I offering to do the same for all those who in like manner be recommended to me by the said Governors, Burgomasters and Senate of the Imperial free City Hamburgh.

— George Washington,on 17 June 1790[4]

The first American mission toHamburgwas established in 1790 andJohn Parishwas named Vice Consul. In 1793 Parish was promoted to the rank of a consul. In 1897,Hugh Pitcairnwas appointed to the consulate, and in 1903 appointed to be Consul General by PresidentRoosevelt.[5]

During the participation of the US in theFirstandSecond World Warall consulates in theGerman Empirewere closed. On 1 March 1946 the US Government reopened the consulate in Hamburg, and in 1950 purchased the building atAlsteruferon the shore of LakeAußenalster.[4]

In 2007 Ms.Karen E. JohnsonsucceededDuane C. Butcheras consul general in Hamburg.[6]As of 2009, 31 consuls and 22 consuls general had served in Hamburg.[4]The current Consul General is Darion Akins, who began serving in July 2019.[7]

Facilities[edit]

A street with a crossing green fence and a barrier with guard houses.
Closed street in front of the consulate-general, view from direction Kennedybrücke.

In 1882 the larger one of the two houses was built, and in 1893 the smaller building was finished by architectMartin Haller,who also designed theHamburg Rathaus.From 1933 until 1945 theNazi Partyused the houses as Hamburg headquarters.[4]After the war, the British forces confiscated the houses, and in 1950 the US Government bought them from the heirs of the original owners.[4]Eventually a structure was built between the two houses to create one single building.

After a renovation the consulate moved into the house in 1951.[4]The Consulate General is commonly calleddas Weiße Haus an der Alster(theWhite Houseon theAlster) in Hamburg.[1][8]Since threats against American embassies,9/11,and a direct threat against the consulate in Hamburg, the security of the US Consulate General in Hamburg was often strengthened.[8][9][10]On 1 April 2009, theHamburger Morgenpostused the consulate for anApril Fools' Daynews, that because of security reasons the consulate will move to a WW II shelter atHeiligengeistfeld.[1]In the late 1990s portions of what used to be a larger property belonging to and surrounding the Consulate were sold off to raise needed cash for the US Embassy in Berlin. The Consulate is known for placing a large Christmas tree every year on the balcony over the entrance.

Neighbourhood[edit]

The artificial lakeAußenalsteris in front of the American consulate in theRotherbaumquarter. The railway stationDammtoris nearby to the South.

References[edit]

  1. ^abc"Ein Scherz"[A joke] (in German).Hamburger Morgenpost.2009-04-02.Retrieved2009-10-22.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^Liste des Konsularkorps sowie der Handelsvertretungen, der kulturellen Institute und der internationalen Institutionen in der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg(PDF)(in German), Hamburg: Der Stenat der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg, Senatskanzlei, July 2009
  3. ^"Our Consular Region".US Department of StateConsulate General Hamburg. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-08-29.Retrieved2009-10-22.
  4. ^abcdef"History".US Department of StateConsulate General Hamburg. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-02.Retrieved2009-10-22.
  5. ^"Local and Personal".Cambria Freeman. January 9, 1903.Retrieved15 Jan2008.
  6. ^"Selected Events 2007".US Department of StateConsulate General Hamburg. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-08-13.Retrieved2009-10-22.
  7. ^"Consul General: Richard Yoneoka | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Germany".Archived fromthe originalon 2018-05-11.Retrieved2018-05-11.
  8. ^ab"Hamburg baut US-Konsulat zur Festung aus"[Hamburg fortifies US Consulate].Der Spiegel(in German). 2003-04-26.Retrieved2009-10-23.
  9. ^"Hamburg: Attentat auf US-Konsulat geplant"[Hamburg: Attack on US Consulate was planned].Die Welt(in German). 1998-09-25.Retrieved2009-10-22.
  10. ^"Am US-Konsulat wird jetzt aufgerüstet"[The US Consulate is now upgraded].Hamburger Abendblatt(in German). 2008-03-11.Retrieved2009-10-22.

External links[edit]

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