When I was at USTDC, these areas on either side of Chungshan North Road were just the Headquarters Support Activity (HSA) compound. When I've written about them here, I usually refer to them as the east and west compound, but that's just to identify which side of the street I'm talking about.
I'm posting Stev's comments here, followed by mine (in brackets):
If you walked south behind the TDC compound, you came to this area. The long building at the bottom of the picture was the Bachelor Officers' Quarters. The building above the right corner of the BOQ was the base exchange. The building at the back of the parking lot was the base theater and the building at the left of the parking lot was the commissary. [The BOQ became the first of two buildings that the hostel occupied. The second building was directly behind this one. Next to the theater at the far end of the parking lot was the library. I think that there were other new buildings later on and some of those shown here may have been gone by the time I got there.]
Across Chungshan North Road from the BOQ was the MAAG compound. [This area was no longer called the MAAG compound when I was there. I'd have to go back and look at some of the other photos and maps that I've posted here, but I think that there were more structures here also.]
6 comments:
Man these photos are great. Thanks Stev. In the west compund photo I can see the chapel where I got married and back in the back was a small bldg that was called the Embassy Store. They sold liquor and wine there and after a flood which seem to happen at least once a year, they had a sale and you stood in line to buy wine for 5cents a bottle and whiskey for 10 cents. People would leave with shopping carts full. You had to rinse the bottles off with bleach. Which by the way we also rinsed off our local vegetables with bleach too.
In the photo of the east compound in the back and to the right housing that looks like row houses was where I lived for awhile. Very hard to tell which row was where I lived but I know that's the place. A lot of Americans lived there but a lot of Chinese families too. Lots of memories again thanks to Stev.
Sarj
Sure brings back memories. In the west compound you can see the gas station just inside the entrance on the right.
Just past it, on the right also, was the Embassy Shop and directly across from it was the Double Ten Store (HSAs answer to our 7-11 stores of today).
Sarj was right about the Enbassy Shop - for just a few bucks you could completely stock the bar that you had had built in Taipei.
If you didn't have enough coupons on your ration card, there was always someone you knew that didn't use their ration and you could "borrow" theirs. The best booze in the whole place was probably about $1.25 when we were there.
At the end of the street past the gas station was the Navy Personnel department and the PMO office.
Jim Sartor
Brings back a lot of memories for me. I spent two years of my life in both compounds living in the baracks behind the theater next to the FASD Mess Hall (should have moved to Grass Mountain Hostel, but my office was the West Compound Admin/Personnel Office). 1965-1967 when I was 20 - 21 years old. See the alley between the theater and the two warehouses (I walked that daily). Theater and Library several times weekly. Good memories! Thanks for posting.
George
So many nice memory about the USTDC. Thanks! I am just wondering, is there any this Bell-type tower around the USTDC area in Chung-shan N. Rd.?
Please see the attached photo in my blog:
You can see one left in CCK:
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/hungchihwen/10659826
or more in Taichung and Hsinchu area:
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/hungchihwen/10650909
HCW asked: ..."is there any this Bell-type tower around the USTDC area in Chung-shan N. Rd.?"
Well, I haven't been in Taipei since 1974 but I don't remember seeing anything like your tower when I was there. If there was one, I assume that it was removed along with everything else in that area to make room for the art museum and park.
Don
Don, this kind of towers were build in the Japanese era during the WWII near the airports. In an unpublished documentary I have seen, it looks like that there was once this kind of tower in the USTDC area, but I am just not sure where it was. I guess the film was taken in 1950s-1960s. Very possible during 1950s. Maybe it was removed when you were in Taiwan.
Your blog has so many good information about Taiwan when the US and Taiwan were so close. Thanks for your effort.
Post a Comment