In the winter of 1944/45 90% of the Esplanade was destroyed in bombing raids that crushed the once thriving hub of Potsdamer Platz. The sections that did manage to survive relatively unscathed were the Kaisersaal and the breakfast hall, as well as the stairwell and wash rooms. After the war they were restored and together formed part of the original "Esplanade Hall Building". The ceiling of the Palm Courtyard was restored and one of the other halls, the Silver Hall, was redesigned with its walls and ceiling decorated with silver and pillars adorned with abstract figures and patterns. And so, amidst what was then a rubble-strewn wilderness, the revived Esplanade became a hive of public activity once more. During the 1950s it was used variously as a restaurant and for fancy dress dances and carnival balls, and then later also for fashion shows.