European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 26, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine  of decorative arts Man film Art Institute and municipal gallery Anchini soul Pluro ethnographic museum German architecture a Street full of treasures Frankfurt museum Park keeps growing Story and photos by Linda White travel editor on the South Bank of the across the River from Frankfurt Concrete and Glass is a treeline stretch of tucked among the stately Villas and in strikingly modern is a treasure trove of everything from ancient african weapons to Picasso from old mail coaches to delicate Faience dish along a five lock strip of Schau Mankai the my Seums Ufer Are seven but this is Only the beginning of a culture Park project As one Frank Furt tourism official put just keeps Chilly Days Are Good for visiting and since Frankfurt is hardly noted for its i had no trouble choosing a if it the museums were so close together that i could hardly get wet moving from one to the if the Sun i could stroll along the Shore of the and when aching feet and Back i could choose Between the museum cafes and the Park at the far end of the museum Schwa Mankai is the newly renovated museum of Decora Tive arts museum fur it is so new that i was shooed out of the main building by construction go to the Villa Metzler next they told so i wandered through the Little rooms filled with cases of plates and Beer mugs and Rococo desks and chests until i found the Glass Edwhite Bridge which links the Villa to the new museum the new building is angular and full of when All the displays Are in place is is the Date it will House european and asian specimens from the Middle Ages to the 20th you can stroll up As far As the Jugendstil turn of the Century in one Corner Between Renaissance and baroque is display of handwork techniques used in furniture an English language leaflet gives the history of the which was founded in the build ing was destroyed in world War so the collections have been housed at the Villa and Farmed out for exhibit look in the Black boxes in each department for Leaf lets in German about the various periods and special leaflets also in German for children teach them about the exhibitions through cuban paste puzzles and paper dolls in period across the past the is another the ethnographic museum museum Fiir Volke Kunde which has also Learned to Deal effectively with the prob Lem of since the collection contains about pieces it dates Back to it can display Only a few items at one instead of a permanent the museum provides changing exhibits showing the history and culture of the third until the end of this the exhibition is african weapons from Spears and arrows to the museum considers itself an information Center which explores the destructive influences of imperialism and Neo colonialism on the cultural and economic sys ethnographic museum weapons outdoor cafe at the sculpture modern Bridge connecting old and new buildings of decorative arts july 1985 terns in latin America and the South sea is each exhibition is the result of exhaustive and a Booklet is published in German on the at the Corner of Busy Schweizer Strasse and Schau Mankai is the German film museum Deutsc hcs it traces German films and equipment and lets the visitor get in on the action by trying out the magic lanterns and other Early entertainment it also has changing exhibitions and a bookshop which does a rousing business in film and architecture books and walk through the Coffee shop downstairs into the German architecture museum Deutscher Architektor dam in dire designed letters for this House within a House within a All packaged in a big Glass was a sensitive Urban landscape project brought off by new York architect Oswald Mathia he left a Shell of the original building in and around sketches and Urban panoramas make up most of the until the special exhibition is German architecture after this draught of space and Light and futuristic i was Flung solidly Back into history As i entered the postal museum just a few doors Down the ornate old uniformed pos coach Drivers and old fashioned Tele phones portray the history of with even one tiny display Case Given Over to the beginning of but the museum Doest sit idly in the on the top a lockup of a communications satellite contrasts wildly with a wooden drum once used by Afri can tribes to Send a modern Day Telephone Exchange lights up As you dial a number to show just what happens inside the As is the museum has changing exhibitions of collectors postage until portuguese Stamps Are on the the most dramatic of the museum group is the Art Institute and municipal the from old masters to modern its All Jan Van room after a map which costs 1 Mark about 35 cents is and in the special exhibitions Are top a full Day Here would not be but aching Back or dont be tempted to skip the last museum on the the museum of ancient Sculp Ture museum alter the Lovely old building nestled in a Park contains works from Greece and As Well As european works from the Middle Ages to the and Reward yourself at the end of the tour with a Stop in the minute cafe for fresh brewed Coffee and homemade you May find yourself lingering until closing All the museums Are open daily except 10 to 6 and to 8 on two exceptions the film museum opens at 11 and the postal museum closes every Day at 4 entry is free to All except the where the fee is 2 Marks about 70 cents and special exhibitions Cost there May also be a charge for special exhibitions at the film the stars and stripes Page 13