The Deichtorhallen is situated at a historically important site. Originally this was the location of the Berliner Bahnhof, the counterpart to the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. After the new Hauptbahnhof was built, construction began on the Deichtormarkt here in 1906. Initially featuring only a provisional roof, in 1911 construction began on the enclosed halls that now host major international exhibitions.
Despite their large size, the buildings soon no longer sufficed as market halls for the rapidly growing city of Hamburg. After the relocation of the wholesale market, from 1963 to 1984 the halls were used for a wholesale flower market. However, they increasingly fell into disrepair.
Finally the Hamburg industrialist Kurt A. Körber ensured their preservation. The Körber Foundation funded their restoration and handed over the renovated buildings to the city of Hamburg in 1988 on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the city harbor. Since then, they have been managed by Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH, whose aim is to promote the visual arts, with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.