Qualla: Old Tainan Magistrate Residence

Old Tainan Magistrate Residence: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 阿道, CC BY-SA 4.0. Locals call it the Clock Building, though no one seems entirely sure why. The Old Tainan Magistrate Residence has answered to so many names and purposes over its 125-year life that one more nickname hardly matters. Built in 1900 as the home of Tainan Prefecture Governor Imai Konichi, this two-story English colonial-style building with its brick arcades and wraparound veranda has been a governor's residence, a military officers' quarters, a salt office, a civil defense headquarters, a concert hall, a cafe, and a cultural center. Each reinvention stripped away or added a layer, yet the bones of the original building have persisted through two empires, a world war, and the restless commercial energy of modern Tainan.

Image: 阿道 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Old Tainan Magistrate Residence: A House for Every Government

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mk2010, CC BY-SA 4.0. The residence was built during the early years of Japanese rule over Taiwan. In 1901, when the administrative system reorganized, the building's original occupant moved to a nearby residence and the structure passed to Tainan Hall for management. The Imperial Japanese Army borrow...

Image: Mk2010 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Old Tainan Magistrate Residence: Decades of Neglect

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Pbdragonwang, CC BY-SA 4.0. After Japan's surrender in 1945 and Taiwan's handover to the Republic of China, the building entered a long period of institutional drift. It was partially rebuilt and used by the Taiwan Salt General Office and a local Land Office. By the 1980s, it had become the headquarters for...

Image: Pbdragonwang | CC BY-SA 4.0

Old Tainan Magistrate Residence: Reinvention After Reinvention

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Since the restoration's completion, the building has cycled through identities with remarkable speed. In 2011, the Taiwan Artists Ensemble Culture Foundation reopened it as the Magistrate Residence Concert Hall, pairing musical performances with a restaurant and cafe. In 2015, a ...

Image: Unknown author | Public domain