Wenxian Theater 文賢戲院 is located in Hunei District, Kaohsiung. Hunei is a northern district that borders Tainan. It is a rural area of Kaohsiung, but of course, it once had a movie theater.
I did mention it once before in this blog post on the nearby “tomato factory.” But it’s time for its own post.
The theater was opened in the late 1950s. During Taiwan’s “golden age of theaters,” it showed movies, Taiwanese opera, and puppet shows, just like most other theaters. For a while, it was the center of entertainment in Hunei. The area around the theater had shops, small restaurants, and a couple pool halls.
As with most theaters, the rising popularity of staying in and watching TV caused the theater to start to decline and close down in 1973. It was apparently a dormitory for foreign workers for some time. After that, I am not sure.
I have gone a few times over the years, but most of the pictures are from 2022. Pretty much all that’s left is the front facade of the theater. But it still looks cool and is worth a visit if you are in the area.
The view from the projection booth.
You can see that it wasn’t the biggest theater.
The theater is pretty easy to find, you can just Google the name, 文賢戲院舊址, or copy and paste this address and go- No. 534號, Section 1, Zhongzheng Rd, Hunei District, Kaohsiung City, 829-.
If you are in or passing through Hunei, stop at the old theater and say hi!
Formosa>Ex 
Great pictures, each taken on beautiful days. Thanks for the history.
I’m assuming that the aluminum framed windows were not the 1950s originals. Someone didn’t “totally” abandon the place.
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Thanks. Yeah, there has been some work on it, and a nearby restaurant still uses the wall. And the local neighborhood is using the back to grow fruit. So gone, but not forgotten or unutilized.
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