Department of Cultural Affairs

The Mayor's Residence Arts Salon

Hours of operation: 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays. Closed Mondays.
Telephone: (8862) 2396-9398 Fax: (8862) 2358-3548
Link:www.mayorsalon.com.tw/
Address: No. 46, Xuzhou Road, Taipei City

Transportation
By MRT: Disembark at Shandao Temple Station on the Banqiao-Nangang line.
By bus: Lines 0 (South, Right), 36, 37, 249, 261, 263, 270, 621, 630, Renai Main Line, Ren'ai-Dayou; disembark at the Hangzhou South Road bus stop.

Architectural style
The building is a mix of Japanese and Western architectural styles, rarely seen among the residential buildings surviving from Taiwan's Japanese colonial era. Surrounded on all four sides by lawn and gently swaying bamboo trees, the Mayor's Residence is striking for its green, lush and secluded environment, serenaded by the gurgling of water in a small pond, the humming of cicadas and the singing of birds. The building's floor plan utilizes a cross design, allowing the various wings of the building to extend into the yard, so that every room looks out on the green exterior. The building has been the home of ten Taipei mayors, one who went on to become Taiwan's first democratically elected president. It has now shed the halo of politics, and taken up the angelic wings of a beautiful treasure of the arts.

Introduction
First built in 1935 as the Taipei Mayor's Residence by the Japanese colonial administration, it continued to house the city's mayors after the island returned to Chinese rule. Kao Yu-shu, Chang Feng-hsu, Ling Yang-kang, Lee Teng-hui, Shao En-szu, Yang Chin-hu, Wu Poh-hsiung, Hsu Shui-te, Huang Ta-chou and Chen Shui-bian all lived here doing their tenures as mayor of Taipei. In 2000, it was rechristened the Mayor's Residence Arts Salon, and officially opened to serve the public.

The Mayor's Residence Arts Salon now offers a restaurant, a lecture/performance hall (with a seating capacity of 100), a Japanese-style lecture room (for small-scale meetings and seminars), two art galleries, and two open-air courtyards. In addition, the Mayor's Residence Arts Salon also provides several activity spaces available for rent to organizations or groups. The Salon offers the public an array of educational and cultural events, including art exhibitions and regularly scheduled musical performances, lectures on art and culture, and classes.