Ashen-faced and glassy-eyed fans wept as they lit candles and laid flowers and messages to honor the musician, while a portable music player ensured his legacy would not be forgotten on this night, as it played out some of his greatest hits.
"There were two reasons why I always wanted to move to Berlin — and Bowie was one of them," American Sam Kerry told Sputnik, as he joined the crowd in paying tribute to the Briton.
"I've been speaking to friends and family all day about it since I heard the news, I can't quite believe it," he added.
Another person paying their respects was Maren Schmidt, who believed Berlin had an everlasting impact on Bowie, and vice-versa.
"He brought so much to the world, and to Berlin, with his music. It's amazing to think this little place [the apartment] had such an impact on his life. He will always have a place here in Berlin."
For others, Bowie's death brought back memories of a very different Berlin to the one we know today.
"His music reminds me of the 70s," said Johannes Schulz, a native Berliner. "Even though the Wall was up and there were so many terrible things going on in Berlin, we all had such a great time. There were so many so many interesting people in Berlin then.
"Even though we were restricted by the Wall, we weren't restricted in our minds," he said.
Berlin Days
Bowie lived at Hauptstrasse 155, along with fellow music icon Iggy Pop, between 1977 and 1979, during which time he produced three albums, known as the Berlin trilogy.
Among those albums was the international smash "Heroes," which was largely inspired by life in Berlin, with many of the album's themes and lyrics referring to the city, the Wall and the Cold War setting that divided Berlin.
Bowie returned to the city a decade later, in 1987, when he performed in front of the German parliament building, the Reichstag, which by that stage had been abandoned for decades due to its close proximity to the Berlin Wall.
He performed the song "Heroes" in German — which he sung as "Helden" — in a moment that many believe was his finest hour.
"It was one of the most emotional performances I've ever done. I was in tears," Bowie later said of the performance.
"'Heroes' is one of Bowie's best-known works and became an anthem for our still-divided city and its longing for freedom," Berlin mayor Michael Muller said.
"With this song, Bowie didn't just set an enduring bar for music, but also expressed irreversibly his connection to our city."
