In the year 1902, the Bremen Cotton Exchange opened the doors to its various tenants, and, as the outward appearance of a man has an influence on the impression he makes upon us, so does the building which houses the cotton trade, play its part. Previous to that date, the business of the Exchange was carried on in rented rooms, but with expanding trade, these became inadequate, and a new building was contemplated; the idea was, to make the outward appearance worthy of the importance of Bremen's cotton trade, with due consideration to the local conditions. Bremen can boast of a thousand years history, and has many fine examples of ancient architecture, notably around the market place. There you find in the rich ornate style of the renaissance, the "Rathaus" (town hall) and in another style, that however blends harmoniously, is the "Schütting" (the seat of the chamber of commerce), the "Dom" (cathedral), the "General Exchange", as well as a number of private houses of a later date. The combined appearance of these various buildings, form an imposing picture. The site for the new exchange is situated in this very neighbourhood, consequently, a building had to be designed that fitted in with the whole scheme. Prominent architects competed, and the plans that gained the first price were accepted, and commissioned for execution. Unfortunately, it was proved later on, that the choice had not been a lucky one. The architect adopted the style of the ancient "Rathaus", but the rich ornamentations of this architecture, proved its doom. Beautiful as the effect was on the smaller, gracefully built, Rathaus, yet on the ponderous building of the "Exchange", it was utterly unsuitable, and another thing the architect did not consider sufficiently: The old guild masters, with their circumspection and devotion, erected buildings to last an eternity, while now-a-days, all is hurry and scurry, the sooner the job is finished the better, as fresh orders are waiting. This may, possibly, be some excuse for the little care bestowed upon the selection of the material. The soft sandstone selected, was excellently suited to the quick sculpturing of the over-rich ornaments, nevertheless, it was a ghastly mistake to have chosen it. Ten years after the building was finished one of the decorations, loosened by the weather, fell, and killed a member of the Exchange. An examination showed that a great number of projecting stones were so weatherworn, that they crumbled in the hand. An ugly scaffolding had to be erected to protect the street traffic. Measures were at once taken to construct the front of the building more solidly; the most prominent experts were asked for their advice, but the war broke out, and nothing could be done. During the first years after the war, want of money prevented the starting of the repairs. These had become more extensive, owing to the revolution, when the building had been under artillery and rifle fire. At last, however, came the