Remembering the Berlin Wall

Hundreds gather on Wilshire Boulevard near Ogden Drive early Monday to take part in the Wende Museum’s “A Wall Across Wilshire,” a symbolic re-creation of the wall that once separated East and West Berlin.  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

Displaying a flag from the former East Germany, Nomi Morris poses with fellow Canadian Steve Zikman at “Wall Along Wilshire -- Eastside Gallery West.”  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

The crowd celebrates the symbolic collapse of the re-created Berlin Wall at “Wall Across Wilshire” festivities. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit made an appearance, via satellite, at the event.  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge participates in the event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s collapse. “I never thought this many people would come out” for the nighttime event, LaBonge said. “It’s nice to see.”  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

A visitor clearly gets into the spirit of the event re-creating the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

Wolfgang Drautz, Germany’s consul general in L.A., looks at a stretch of the re-created wall. Sections of the temporary barricade were painted by muralist Shepard Fairey, along with graffiti artists working with ArtStorm LA and art students from the Otis College of Art and Design, USC and CalArts.  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

A close-up look at the composition of the original Berlin Wall segment in “Wall Along Wilshire -- Eastside Gallery West.” The “Wall Across Wilshire” event featured a 16-minute video, shown on two mounted flat screens, of footage from when the Berlin Wall was erected and dismantled.  (Stefano Paltera/For The Times)

The section of the original Berlin Wall fascinates an onlooker at “Wall Along Wilshire -- Eastside Gallery West.” Said L.A. muralist Kent Twitchell, who attended the associated event commemorating the wall’s collapse: “Another Berlin Wall can happen anywhere, any time, unless we’re vigilant. There are certain things in history we must never forget.”  (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)