Is This The End Of The King's Hotel, King's Club And 77 Club Buildings In Taipei?

When I took the first two pictures shown on this post, it was near the end of August, 1969.  It was simply some shots of places we had stayed and clubs where servicemen hung out.

Kent Mathieu, fellow blogger and good friend, has again supplied me with pictures of the first two buildings as they look today.

I was surprised three years ago when this part of the Golden Intersection was still standing. You will see that the buildings continue to deteriorate and may soon become a victim of the wrecking ball.

Thanks to Kent who will certainly keep us updated as to the future of this area. 

If ever there was a landmark that everyone knew, it was the King's Hotel at the southwest corner of Chung Shan North Road and Min Chuan Roads.  

In the distance, stands the newly completed Central Hotel with the rotating restaurant at the top, shaped like a flying saucer.

There were four other hotels that would open up in about one year or less.  Goodbye to the King's Hotel and hello to a bridal palace.   

Directly west of the King's Hotel is a large building which contained the King's Club, 77 Club and an iron worker's shop.

Close to this area was the Pink Bar and Monte Carlo Club.  Foot traffic in this area was heavy.  

Taken in 2013 by Kent Mathieu, the King's Hotel is now The Best Store where all facets of bridal decor can be purchased.

This building, plus others in the area, are all wedding related.  Surprisingly, the old OK Bar and the Suzie Wong Bar sites are included in the bridal complex.  Kind of ironic, isn't it?  

Looking back and forth from this picture to the old King's Club picture and the other picture, this business with the black Chinese characters on the white background was the King's Club in 1968-1971 at least.  

Guys from the Linkou Navy would know for sure.

This is a shot Kent took from the sidewalk looking directly

to the top of the 77 Club building.

The yellow building at the far right of this picture housed the Pink Bar.

Kent took this from the alley at the end of the building containing all the clubs and iron works.  

This is looking directly east from the corner of the alley toward the intersection and the Shanghai Savings Bank on the southeast corner which was once the Majestic Hotel. 

Finally, from the same area as the above picture, Kent took this shot diagonally across the intersection to the Starbucks on the northeast corner of the intersection.  

This building was the Northwest Orient Airlines office in 1969.  

A Long Overdue Post For A USASTRATCOM Alum

Months ago, Charles Gove sent  us some pictures of his days in Taiwan. Charles saw much more of the island than many of us since he was stationed at Taichung from 1963-64 and then was under the USASTRATCOM command in Taipei where he worked at Seven Star microwave relay from 1964-65.  

Recently, Chuck sent updates to the picture captions, but that is secondary to the fact that he took the time to scan and send these pictures to us.  For that, we thank you, Chuck!  All photos shown belong to Charles Gove who gave us permission to publish them.  


This is the enlisted men's club in Taichung.  What the Club 36 stands for was not explained. It might be a simple reversal of the Club 63 numbers in Taipei. 

Clubs for officers and enlisted men seemed to have appeared shortly after servicemen arrived in an area.  There was even one on Matsui when Tom Jones was there in 1958.  

This is a neat banner from MAAG recognizing Charles for his service in Taichung.    

Many servicemen bought motorcycles while in Taiwan and many of them shipped them back home.  Above, Chuck is shown on his 1954 Triumph Spitfire with a screaming 650cc engine.  

He bought from an ASA member who used the money to buy a new BSA.  

Just like many other enlisted personnel, Chuck "volunteered" at an officers' club baseball game. 

 I am sure they fully appreciated his time and effort.  

The two guys on the right were leaving Taiwan.  The guy in the middle is Ron who worked at the USACC site just south of the Grass Mountain Hostel.  



This is the inside of the microwave site at Ming Chin.  Microwaves were sent to a site just north of Taichung and south to Chiayi.