From Yamen to Prison: A Wall Preserves a Century of Prison Memories

Over a hundred years ago, this place was the Qing Dynasty's Yamen. After repairs, it became the Taipei County Taipei Prison Office. During the Japanese colonial period, Japan, to prove itself as a civilized and progressive ruler, commissioned the engineer Keijiro Yamashita from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs to design prisons in Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan. The Taipei Prison was completed in 1904, using the latest fan-shaped layout design. The stones from the demolished Taipei City Wall were used as the foundation and to build the surrounding walls. The overall scale even surpassed the five major prisons in Japan. It was renamed Taipei Prison in 1924. This place once held Chiang Wei-shui and executed Luo Fuxing. During World War II, it imprisoned and executed Allied prisoners of war. During the White Terror period, it was also the place where the most political prisoners were held. After the Taipei Prison moved to Guishan in 1963, the main prison structure was demolished, and the area gradually became the Huaguang Community. In the torrent of urban development, only a wall and the southern prison dormitory group remain. The remaining nine-row building with 19 households was the first large-scale public building during the Japanese colonial period. It used TR bricks produced by Taiwan Brick and was paired with Japanese wooden structures. After illegal constructions were demolished and a mysterious fire, the site has now become the Banyan Time Living Park. In addition to restaurants and cafes, the service center introduces the history and retains the wooden lattice doors from the Ministry of Justice dormitory period. The doors are not covered with Japanese paper but with layers of old newspapers. As they yellow and deteriorate, one can see the frugality and traces of time from the early years. 📍Address: No. 167, Jinhua Street, Da'an District, Taipei City, 106 🚗 MRT Dongmen Station Exit 3, a ten-minute walk, or take bus 214 or 237 to the Gongqi Center Station.