NATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGES-The Taiwan Navigation Company and the Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government period (1946-2014)

The Taiwan Navigation Company and the Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government period (1946-2014) Image 1

The Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government building retained signage for the “Taiwan Navigation Company Building” on its exterior face.
(Nanguang Deng, “Dadaocheng Train Station”, National Center of Photography and Images Collection)

The Taiwan Navigation Ltd. and the Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government

After Osaka Shosen Kaisha (Osaka Mercantile Co., Ltd.), the majority of the institutions that occupied this building were in transportation related fields; namely the Taiwan Navigation Ltd., established in 1946, and the Taiwan Provincial Directorate General of Highways, MOTC which relocated to the building in 1958 and remained for over 55 years. After World War II, the Kuomintang Government took control of Taiwan and continued to use Japanese colonial “relics” (buildings and facilities) as governmental offices. The Taiwan Provincial Government consolidated various Japanese shipping and freight companies to form the Taiwan Navigation Co., Ltd. (Taiwan Navigation Company). The company was established on the site of the former Osaka Shosen Kaisha Taipei Branch, and the building was renamed the “Building of Taiwan Navigation Co., Ltd.”

Due to a downturn in the international shipping industry and subsequent mismanagement, the Taiwan Navigation Company transferred ownership of the building to the Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government in 1958. The Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government was also established in 1946, as a reorganization of the Motor Vehicles Division of the Railroad Management Commission, Transportation Ministry, Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office. In 2002, the Bureau was renamed the Directorate General of Highways, MOTC under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and retained use of this building until the department relocated in March of 2014. In May of that same year, the building was designated as a Municipal Monument by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government.

The Taiwan Navigation Company and the Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government period (1946-2014) Image 2

Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government in the 1960s.
(Taipei street scene on New Year’s Eve, January 29, 1968. Photo by Central News Agency journalist Yue-Kang PAN, used by the Ministry of Culture with permission from the Central News Agency..)

The Taiwan Navigation Company and the Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government period (1946-2014) Image 3

The Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government Building after renovation. (Source: courtesy of Mr. Yi-Ping LIU)

The Renovation Project by Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government

The Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government renamed the building the “Building of Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government” when they took over the building in 1958. To meet the needs of expansion, the original spaces of the building were renovated and extended in 1968 as designed by Taiwanese architect Ming-kang WOO. According to historical documents, the renovation was carried out in two phases. The first phase involved the demolition of the rooftop spired-turret and the addition of the fourth storey, as well as the construction of a new nine-story building extending toward Guanqian Road. The second phase of the renovation removed the existing facade, replacing it with mustard-yellow tiles. Though the renovation retained the structure of the main architectural body, its external appearance was changed beyond recognition.

The Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government was renamed the Directorate General of Highways, MOTC. The department was relocated to a new building on Dongyuan Street in Taipei’s Wanhua District in 2014, and the vacated building was earmarked by the Ministry of Culture as the designated site for the National Center of Photography and Images. At the same time, the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, MOC, was appointed to oversee the restoration.

The Taiwan Navigation Company and the Taiwan Highway Bureau, Taiwan Provincial Government period (1946-2014) Image 4

View of the Directorate General of Highways, MOTC Building. (Source: Courtesy of Mr. Yi-Hung LIN, taken in 2013)