湖內文賢戲院

April 21st, 2024

Last updated September 1st, 2025

Founded by members of the Yè (葉) family by the early 1950s, Wenxian Theater (文賢戲院) was a small town theater catering mainly to local farmers in an era before television became widespread. It began as a simple enclosure with a thatched roof that was later expanded into a more permanent structure with a brick façade. Screenings and performances were typically held twice nightly. As with many rural theaters of that time the programming was a mix of film, glove puppetry (布袋戲), and traditional opera. By the 1970s business was declining due to the impact of the Three Old Channels (老三台), free-to-air television stations introduced from 1962 to 1971. It was briefly managed by Ye Guochang (葉國昌) before going out of business in 1973.

The distinctive façade now serves as a backdrop to a popular noodle shop.

Several restaurants and a billiard hall fronted onto this small plaza back in the day.

After the theater went out of business the original building was repurposed as industrial space. Later still it was transformed into a dormitory for migrant workers at a nearby battery factory (電池廠), evidence of which can still be seen on the building’s façade. More recently, perhaps around 2013, the building has been gutted and demolished, leaving only the façade and part of what must have been the projection booth with a long grassy field out back. Some sense of nostalgia seems to guide the decision to preserve the façade, which is now a local landmark.

A closer look at the façade reveals layers of history.

Although blurry and indistinct, the characters from the name of the theater are still discernable on the façade. Wenxian (文賢) was written in larger characters on the inside while “theater” (戲院) was written in smaller characters on the outside, both running right-to-left. Additionally, the characters for “battery” (電池) were obviously added later, as they occupy a marginal position on the façade.

Power switches on the left side of the old theater.

Upstairs where the old projection booth would have been located.

All that remains of the body of the old theater from the newly planted grass out back.

One last look at the gritty textures on the inside of the old theater.

As an aside, this old theater was also informally known as Yecuojia Theater (葉厝甲戲院) after the name of the surrounding village. Also note that the grassy field behind the theater is private property and now fenced off to causal inspection.

Map

Address: 高雄市湖內區中正路一段534號

Recorded On

December 1st, 2018

Sources

New Taipei Gold Museum Report: In Search of Old Theaters, Hsinchu Municipal Cultural Center, 2019 《新北市立黃金博物館「尋找老戲院身影」》，新竹市立文化中心，2019

Themes

Theaters in Taiwan (台灣老戲院)
Urban Exploration in Taiwan (台灣城市探險)

Series: Southern Taiwan Ride 2018

Dispatches from a weeklong bicycle trip around southern Taiwan in late 2018. I began the ride in Tainan, crossed into Qishan, headed into the mountainous interior as far as Liugui, did a loop through Pingtung, and finished around Zuoying, visiting the sites of nearly 25 old movie theaters. Many entries remain to be added; this series is far from over.