Hualien Theater

This intersection has long been the site of a theater, beginning with Karenko-za (花蓮座), a mostly wooden performance venue built to accommodate 800 guests in the 1920s, and soon joined (or replaced) by Taiyō-za (太洋座) or Taihei-kan (太平館) in the 1930s. In the post-war period a theater on this site was renamed Hualien Theater (花蓮戲院) and then Meiqi Theater (美琪戲院). Whatever structure remained from the colonial era was eventually demolished and replaced by a commercial high-rise with a theater, or pair of theaters, on the second floor. Business records indicate Daxin Theater (大新戲院) and Xinmeiqi Theater (新美祺戲院) operated at this address from the early 1980s until sometime in the 2000s, or perhaps 2011. Since Xinmeiqi is mentioned as being managed by the owner of Guosheng Theater there may have only been one theater renamed after a change in ownership.