Taiwan’s First Theater

Where the First Business Center stands today at 202 Yanping North Road, Section 2, is where Taiwan’s First Theater used to be. It was funded and built by Twatutia tea tycoon Chen Tian-lai to assist the Japanese in their efforts to host the Taiwan Exposition. The three-story structure was completed in 1935 and boasted a wide stage that could show movies and accommodate operas and modern plays. It could hold an audience of one thousand people and was one of the most elegant theaters in Taipei at the time. Unfortunately, after the retrocession of Taiwan, Ximending started pulling in the crowds and the theater was forced to close down. In 1990 the building was demolished and another building built in its stead.