- Chinese Name: 台北故事館
- Located At: Taipei City (Northern Taiwan)
- Did You Know That … ?
- The Taipei Story House is the only Tudor-style heritage building in all of Taiwan.
- Address: No. 181-1 Zhongshan North Rd. Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Site: www.taipeistoryhouse.org.tw
Taipei Story House, formerly known as Yuanshan Mansion (圓山別莊) and located next to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, was built in 1913 by Taipei tea merchant Chen Chao-chun (陳朝駿) as a country resort and a place to entertain buyers and guests from abroad.
Later, the half-timbered faux Tudor-style building served as a prison and detainment center during the latter years of Japan-occupied Taiwan, and then as the residence of the late speaker Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) of the Legislative Yuan in the 1950s.
The century-old building, designated as a heritage site by the Taipei City Government in 1998, lost its splendor following years of neglect. The Taipei Fine Arts Museum launched a restoration and renovation project in 2000 after the building was handed over to the city government.
The first floor of the building features a brick load-bearing wall and a door with Ionic-style columns, and the second floor is a wood structure with woven branches on the exterior wall.
The Gothic-style house tower and chimney are made of brick, and the curved gable is covered with bronze tiles, on which the verdigris caused by aging reveals the trace of time. Inside the house, there are two fireplaces and art nouveau tiles featuring floral patterns in bas-relief.
In 2003, lawyer-turned-preservationist C.K. Chen (陳國慈) sponsored the establishment of the Taipei Story House on the site and turned it into a mini-museum to showcase cultural life in Taiwan and promote the historic building.
After 12 years of restoration and promotion under Chen's careful management, the Taipei Story House has changed hands and is currently under the management of the Kuo Mu-sheng Foundation (財團法人郭木生文教基金會).
The Taipei Story House has since hosted a wide range of exhibitions and cultural events, providing visitors with easy access to history and injecting new life into the important heritage site.