Sunday, October 02, 2011

What street is this?

My friend Patrick Cowsill found this. Any idea what street this is?
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Scroll down and it's labeled as National Taiwan University Library:
http://www.5819375.idv.tw/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7758&start=100

Found with the 'who stole my pictures' add-on for Firefox:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/who-stole-my-pictures/

Marc said...

This shows Sakaimachi Street in Tapei during the Japanese period. This would be Hengyang Rd today

Tim Maddog said...

A clearer version of the image is available here with an answer [translation mine]:
- - -
今衡陽路-博愛路口,右邊遠方為電話交換局

This is the intersection of Hengyang & Boai Road, with the Telephone Exchange at distant right.
- - -

Here's a more contemporary view of that intersection.

Tim Maddog

Michael Turton said...

You guys are awesome.

Brian Schack said...

I like seeing pictures like this and imagining what it would have been like to be in a place with no cars, trucks, buses or scooters. You could talk to the person next to you without yelling, hear people across the street, wander across the road without worrying about getting pegged, breathe clean air - heaven. The infernal combustion engine has brought a lot of material prosperity, but pictures like this make it clear that we've paid a steep price. I would love for Taipei to organize a car-free day so that people could understand what we've given up.

And while I'm rambling, imagine what it would have been like at night without lights and being able to see the stars. About 10 years ago a transmission tower collapsed in southern Taiwan, leading to widespread blackouts in northern Taiwan, including Taipei. I remember walking home that night looking at the stars, hearing people actually talking to each other in their homes (as opposed to watching the boob tube or singing karaoke). We need more blackouts.