Coming Down Alert – Taipei’s 1950s Aifu Road Bungalows Falling into Disrepair

I posted in February 2010 on the lovely former US military bungalows up on top of Yangmingshan near the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. They are lovely structures, many with great views of the city and surrounding hills and redolent of the 1950s. Some are lived in and in a good state of repair – they look cosy with fireplaces and chimneys. However, a growing number of them seem to be falling empty and into disrepair, the glass in their windows gone, gardens overgrown, interiors gutted and often open to the elements. This indicates that someone wants them to eventually be cleared for new development. I am not sure, but I think the land the bungalows are on is controlled by the Chinese Cultural University. I asked a couple of local real estate places (these bungalows are easy to repair and would make great writers retreats!) but nobody seemed to know who the owners were or the likely fate of the properties. Anyway, here’s a bunch of pictures of the bungalows slowly falling apart.