Truman Hall - US Army Consolidated Mess Hall, 1950 (Source: Author's collection) Entrance to Truman Hall. The US Army facility opened in July 1946 as a Consolidated Mess Hall. The building was the first completely new building constructed by U. S. Engineers in the American sector of Berlin and was named after the American President who was present at the official flag-raising ceremony at the Headquarters Compound on July 20, 1945. In June 1950 (around the time of these photos) the building became the shopping center for the American forces in Berlin. (For additional information see an article on the Berlin OBSERVER web site: http://www.theberlinobserver.com/DAHLEM.HTM.)