新竹市民眾活動中心

April 12th, 2016

A distant view of the formerly sheltered bleachers at the Hsinchu City Public Activity Center.

Today I made a brief stop in Hsinchu while returning from Taichung to my current abode in Taipei. One of my targets for this little stopover was the former Hsinchu City Public Activity Center 新竹市民眾活動中心, something I only found out about because I’ve been following the Taiwan Ruins Research (台灣廢墟研究) group. Somebody (and I regret not taking note of whom) posted several photos from within the old activity center in recent weeks, noting that the city was finally starting to do something about this old space, which has spent at least the better part of the last decade acting as a “temporary” parking lot.

The former activity center from the street corner. Shops line the outside of the building on all sides.

Turns out I was too late to see the old activity center with its grungy rooftop intact—and the old scoreboards and other sports paraphernalia are probably gone as well, though I wasn’t about to jump the fence in broad daylight in front of such a busy intersection. You have to move fast in this scene if you want to capture a moment in history—but I’m not as obsessive as I might appear from the meticulous way I keep notes and share my finds on this blog. I’m content sharing what I see even if it’s only a glimpse. Hopefully the city makes good use of this former civic space.