At the end of the 19th century, flourishing commerce in tea and camphor led many Western foreign countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, and Britain to establish consulates and trade offices in the Dadaocheng district of Taihoku Prefecture. The United States built its consulate at this location during the Japanese rule in 1926 as the American Consulate in Taihoku.
The Consulate seen during the Japanese rule of Formosa
In 1913, seeing that Formosa's strategic position was gradually becoming more important, the U.S. government upgraded their offices in Formosa.
After the Japanese surrender ceremonies were conducted by the Republic of China 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 General 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.
On 1 January 1979, the United States switched diplomatic relations from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China and subsequently the American Institute in Taiwan was established on 16 January 1979 to maintain non-diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The US embassy in Taipei and this residence was closed on 28 February 1979 and the building was left abandoned.[3]
On 20 February 1997, the building was listed as historic monument by the government of the Republic of China. In 2000, the Taipei City Government and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 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.
‡ Missions which are located in countries or cities that may be considered a part of more than one continent
1Consulates-General which function as an embassy (ie. consul reports to State Department, not the respective country's ambassador)
2The American Institute in Taiwan is ostensibly a public, non-profit organization to promote US-Taiwanese relations, but through State Department staffing & assistance, functions as an informal US diplomatic mission.
