It was constructed for the Bundesgartenschau 1985, in order to provide a new landscape park to the citizens in the southeast of West-Berlin, who were at that time cut off from the surrounding countryside.
The embankment built during the relocation of the line through the Gessen valley was removed before the 2007 Federal Garden Show and replaced by a steel arch bridge.
From the underground intake to the Josephsburg U-Bahn station pavilion at Kreillerstraße, there is already a dry riverbed, but the original plans to route the stream to the surface at the 2005 Bundesgartenschau failed due to budget insufficiencies.
There are ongoing controversial discussions about shutting down the airport in the future and proposals are being considered, such as using the site for the 2023 Bundesgartenschau.