Facilities on the 2nd and 3rd Floors of the Taipei City Public Auditorium

NCL Special Collection / Wang Bi-yun / Japanese Colonial Period (1895-1945) / 14.3×9.1cm / 《Visual Feast》

Completed in 1936, the Taipei City Public Auditorium is currently known as the Zhongshan Hall. Under Japanese rule, it was originally a place of public leisure and cultural events. It had a large auditorium, a small auditorium, a dining hall, a kitchen (preparation room), an entertainment room, a hair salon, and a guest room. In 1938, the Taiwan Modernization Paper newspaper agency donated a domed observatory. In August 1945, the Japanese government admitted defeat in the war, and use of the building changed. After the war, its name was changed to Zhongshan Hall. It became an important meeting place in Taiwan political activities, including the formal ceremony to accept Japanese surrender, celebrations of Taiwan retrocession, presidents assuming office, and legislative meetings. In 1998, the Zhongshan Hall underwent three years of renovations and was restored to its original beauty.