What happens now?
The old part of the square will be supplemented with new apartments, the Clarion Hotel Sign, stores, offices and more green areas. Norra Bantorget will be a square with a genuine park atmosphere, while another smaller square is being developed just around the corner. The whole area will be greener. The streets are being redeveloped and newly equipped, and new trees are being planted.
What was there before?
In the area by Norra Bantorget, there used to be 2 prisons (one for men and one for women) and an orphanage. The orphanage was situated on the corner of Drottninggatan and was the key landmark in the area. There was also a prison – Cellfängelset – which provided a more lenient form of punishment than its predecessor, Smedjegården, which housed the dreaded torture chamber Rosenkammaren. King Gustav III abolished Rosenkammaren and other forms of torture and society took a step towards being more humane. In 1826, the old prison buildings were converted into a correctional institution that was famous for having a programme to rehabilitate its inmates back into society. The building eventually became the Norrmalm city prison.
In the middle of all this there was also a small church, similar in style to an English country chapel, which was built in 1866 at the same time as the railroad. In the 1860s, the railway network’s main terminals were located at Södra Bantorget (Medborgarplatsen) at Norra Bantorget, and the old station house is still there today. In 1871, the 2 lines were merged and the central station was officially opened.
Carlbergska huset, now known as the "LO-borgen", was built at the turn of the century. It was designed as a private residence by Ferdinand Boberg. The entire block was built between 1903 and 1909. Intima Teatern, August Strindberg’s own theatre, opened in the adjoining building in 1907.