ARMORY Tainan

The Armory pub was originally Du Mei’s family home. In the middle of the night in March 1995, a fire broke out next door to the Armory which left the building severely damaged. Mr Liang Hong, Professor Wong and a team of volunteers from Cheng Gung University redesigned and rebuilt the building into what we now know as The Armory bar. The Armory offers both Western and Chinese food. Live entertainment plays most weekends. The property at rear of The Armory which is now a free government car park, was during the Min and Chin dynasty an army barracks. During the Japanese occupation an Armory was added (the origin of the pub’s name). After the Hong Kong handover in 1997 the Army base was closed down and demolished. This gave an opportunity for a little midnight shopping for building material (with permission from the site manager of course!). During their period of occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945) the Japanese were responsible for the systematic cutting down of the now rare Taiwan oak. The 10,000 year old plus trees were cut down for building material. Yes, that’s right, these enormous, majestic trees were cut down to build houses and government buildings. Cutting them down was bad enough, but to hide the beautiful wood under paint or inside a wall was criminal. Who knows how much of this wood is still buried inside walls around Taiwan, or worse still, destroyed. At least some of it can be seen around the Armory not really a fitting end to the life of these ancient trees, but better than ending up as landfill. A small slide show of the rebuilding can be seen next to the book case on the second floor.Over the years the Armory has been involved with countless charity events, art shows, and community services for both the local and foreign communities. One of the main objectives of the Armory over the years has been bringing Ex-pats and local people together in a friendly environment. The Armory has been responsible for countless friendships, relationships and associations. Taiwanese people frequent there as well as foreigners. The Armory promotes art and music like no other venue in Tainan. It is a shame that the other places in Tainan can’t keep up with them, but at least the Armory is there to help support the artists. The Armory Tainan supplies a location for people to show their art, D.J skills and a venue for up and coming live bands. Also sponsorship of magazines, sporting events, Phoenix soccer team and many others. Under the loving guidance of the one constant influence, Du Mei, The Armory has become a second home for many people from all walks of life.In 2003 the Armory under went a renovation with the addition of new management to bring it more up to date, including; increasing the floor space, bar extensions, live satellite TV, two projector screens and a functioning bar on the first floor. A new cook has transformed the food menu with the addition of new: traditional Taiwanese, vegetarian and western dishes that caters to mos