Zhongsen Theater

Date CapturedJuly 11th, 2016 at 06:53 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IIApertureƒ / 10Shutter Speed1/400 secFocal Length24.0 mmISO400Exposure Value15.3 EVOriginal Size1800 × 1200

Taichung is changing fast. The historic downtown area, formerly one of the worst examples of inner city blight in the nation, is presently undergoing a massive urban renewal effort. Some decaying and disused commercial buildings have been restored, many more await their fate, and others have been demolished before I’ve even had a chance to document their interiors. Zhōngsēn Theater (中森戲院) belongs to this last category: it came down after I shot a preliminary set of photos but before I had a chance to sneak inside. You have to move fast to capture these small histories in their unmaking.

Date CapturedJuly 11th, 2016 at 06:55 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IIApertureƒ / 9Shutter Speed1/320 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO400Exposure Value14.7 EVOriginal Size1800 × 1200

According to this source (corroborated with government records) Zhongsen Theater was built in 1968 by Lài Zibīn (賴子彬), a veteran of the lumber trade, who later founded Chung Yang Industries (中陽實業股份有限公司). The theater business was highly competitive in the 1970s with dozens of cinemas scattered around the Taichung Basin¹ but Zhongsen benefited from a central location and Lai enjoyed the assistance of his family in operating things.

The rest of the story is pretty much exactly what you would expect if you’ve charted the rise and fall of the Taiwanese movie theater industry: attendance dropped off as home video and especially the internet came along. The theater was subdivided into two halls, entered its second-run twilight, and was eventually shut down in the year 2000. Derelict for nearly two decades, it was sold in 2016 and rapidly demolished in November of that year.

Date CapturedJuly 11th, 2016 at 06:52 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IIApertureƒ / 9Shutter Speed1/320 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO400Exposure Value14.7 EVOriginal Size1800 × 1200

Date CapturedDecember 1st, 2016 at 07:49 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IIApertureƒ / 8Shutter Speed1/250 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO100Exposure Value14.0 EVOriginal Size1800 × 1200

I wasn’t surprised to find nothing more than empty space when I returned to Zhongsen Theater this week. News of its demolition quickly spread through the well-connected urban exploration community in Taiwan. Even so, I visited the site once again just to see if there was any sign of it left. Nope, nada. And since I won’t have an opportunity to take a closer look or shoot a new set of photos I figure I may as well share what I’ve gathered, however meagre it is. I gave all these images a black and white treatment as the sky was very washed out the one day I passed through on a scouting mission. Sorry, but it’s all I have.

Footnotes

1. For some reason the source specifically refers to competition from Háobīn Theater (豪賓戲院) in Beitun and Háoxìng Theater (豪興戲院) in Dali (demolished). ↩