USTDC

Photo of USTDC courtesy of Les Duffin

Thursday, January 21, 2010

National Grandee Hotel

I received the following photos and comments from Les Duffin:

I just saw your post from Ray Richardson.  The National Grandee Hotel was actually at the southwest intersection of Min Tzu East Road and Lin Sen North Road, across the street from the “back gate” of the HSA East Compound, the gate that pointed straight into the signal compound.  The gate was located sort of behind the theater and library.  I returned to Taipei in 1984 and took the attached photos.  By that time the East Compound had become headquarters for the Chinese Military Police and their main building was directly inside that same gate.  The first photo is looking north along Lin Sen Road; that’s the CMP hqs in the center and the white building on the left corner is the hotel.  The second shot shows the same two buildings from a little closer perspective.  The third shot is the hotel itself from the diagonally opposite corner.



The funny thing is that I didn't even recall a back gate on the south side of the east compound, but if you look at that area on Google Maps, it's right there.  Search for "Riviera Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan" and go to Street View, which will put you at that intersection and you can look around from there.

Thanks again to Ray and Les for all this good info.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brilliant! Thanks so much, fellas. The middle photo brings back the most memories. Walking under the...overhanging. I've been chatting with my family about this place the last couple days. This site is great.

Anonymous said...

Also, I always entered the compound there. The shuttle bus stop was just down Min Tzu, I think.

Bou said...

We stayed at a Guest House down that same street when we moved there in 1978. We stayed at the new corner hotel with the scads of other military families as we were getting ready to ship out. It was the National Grandee.

I don't think we ever entered in any other entrance but the 'back gate'. I do know the Rainbow Guest house where many families stayed while awaiting housing was right next to the 'front gate' to the compound.

Also, the elevator at the National Grandee was horrible. We got stuck in it a couple times.

taipeitdc1973 said...

I remember a Mongolian BBQ fairly close to the gate behind the theater.

Anonymous said...

After we did much Google map street viewing, Dad found where our (former) guest house building is located. South on LinSen N., past the Imperial Hotel and then take a right two streets up. That should be Lane 19 ShuangCheng. Building is up a bit on the left. There's a Blue Girl (beer) sign on it.

Les Halfhill said...

I seem to remember it being the New American Guest House. But there might have been others.