The Embassy of the United States, Taipei () is a former

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

diplomatic mission in Zhongshan District,

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. The building current houses the Taipei Film House () as a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

History

Empire of Japan

At the end of the 19th century, flourishing commerce in

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

and

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...

led many Western foreign countries such as the

, the

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, and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

to establish consulates and trade offices in the

Dadaocheng Dadaocheng is an area in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien ''Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ''), Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng (Mandarin) during the Kuomintang era. ...

district of

Taihoku Prefecture Taihoku Prefecture (台北州; ''Taihoku-shū'') was an administrative division of Taiwan created in 1920, during Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Yilan County. Its government office, ...

. The United States built its consulate at this location during the Japanese rule in 1926 as the American Consulate in Taihoku. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it served as the US Ambassador's residence. Ambassadors

Karl L. Rankin Karl Lott Rankin (September 4, 1898 – January 15, 1991) was an American diplomat from Wisconsin. Background Rankin was born September 4, 1898, to Emmet and Alberta Rankin in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He would serve in the United States Navy dur ...

, Everett F. Drumright,

Alan G. Kirk Alan Goodrich Kirk (October 30, 1888 – October 15, 1963) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II and diplomat. Biography He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1909 and served in the United States Navy during World ...

Jerauld Wright Admiral Jerauld Wright (June 4, 1898 – April 27, 1995) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command (CINCLANT) and the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic ...

Walter P. McConaughy Walter Patrick McConaughy, Jr. (September 11, 1908 – November 10, 2000) was a career American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to a number of countries. Education McConaughy attended Birmingham–Southern College and Duke University, g ...

and Leonard S. Unger all made this building their home. It now stands as an historic witness to relations between Taipei and

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In 1913, seeing that Taiwan's strategic position was gradually becoming more important, the U.S. government upgraded their offices in Taiwan. In 1941,

broke out between

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the

in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, forcing the American consulate in Taipei to close.

Republic of China

After the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

ceremonies were conducted by the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

on 25 October 1945, the United States established its consulate at the building on 4 April 1946. In 1948, it was upgraded to a consulate-general as the Consulate of the United States, Taipei and handled American business in Taiwan at the present address in Taipei's Zhongshan District. The first appointee to be stationed as consul general at the consulate was Robert C. Strong. In 1950, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

broke out, the United States again started aiding the Republic of China. In addition, ambassador was accredited to the Republic of China. In 1953, it was upgraded to an embassy status four years after taking over

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. On 1 January 1979, the United States switched diplomatic relations from the

to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and subsequently the

American Institute in Taiwan The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT; ) is the ''de facto'' Embassy of the United States of America in Taiwan. The AIT institution is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the federal government of the United States in Taiwan with Congressional oversi ...

was established on 16 January 1979 to maintain non-diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The US embassy in Taipei was closed on 28 February 1979 and the building was left abandoned. In 1957, there were

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

at the embassy after a killing and alleged murder of a Republic of China national. On 20 February 1997, the building was listed as historic monument by the

government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China, is the national government of the Republic of China whose ''de facto'' territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other island groups in the "free area". Governed by the De ...

. In 2000, the

Taipei City Government The Taipei City Government (TCG) is the municipal government of Taipei. History The Taihoku City Government was founded on 10 October 1920 in Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese colonial rule. The original city hall was located at the site of ...

and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (

TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...

) under the Cultural and Educational Foundation began renovating the building. The building now houses the Taipei Film House.

Architecture

The building is a two-story mansion with white exterior wall with Victorian and American colonial style. The main hallway faces north with jutting veranda on its east side. The interior layout is designed around the central staircase.

Transportation

The building is accessible within walking distance northeast of Zhongshan Station of

Taipei Metro Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei City, New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the State-owned enterprise, government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation ...

.http://superspace.moc.gov.tw/en/local_culture_page.asp?rid=190

References

External links

* {{portalbar, Taiwan 2002 establishments in Taiwan Taiwan–United States relations Defunct diplomatic missions of the United States Buildings and structures in Taipei Theatres completed in 1926 Cinemas in Taiwan