Taipei Air Station - 1966 - - - " What you have in the end are memories"......... Photo Courtesy of Richard Reesh.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Your Home Away From Home in Gongguan - Outside the Gate 'UPDATED'

Jim Caumo, Taipei Air Station, November 1963 - February 1965, furnished these photographs of his off-base home and apartment near the Air Station. On base quarters were very limited and most folks had to reside in the civilian community. Quite an experience for a young man on his first Air Force assignment. (Be sure to click on the photographs for a larger view)


 



































On the balcony looking toward Taipei Air Station. The Gate area was just on the other side of that hill with the trees. A freight train is parked on the tracks.

Looking out the balcony to the left of the previous photograph, same hill in background. Notice the rail tracks just outside our apartment.


Jim's first home off-base, a small bungalow. This landlord also owned the apartment next door, which he moved into. The photographs above and below were taken from that apartment. Jim also resided in the Chinese Hostel outside of the HSA Compound, as many of us also called home one time or another.



Another shot from the balcony. Notice the train tracks and possibly a railroad station.


A shot off the balcony again, showing a steam engine hauling down the tracks .



Here's a Google Earth Map of the area these photographs were taken in. It was impossible for Jim to identify the exact area he lived. The streets have been changed, Roosevelt Road has been re-routed, the railroad tracks have been removed, everything is different in this area, including our beloved Taipei Air Station. Anyone else live in this area?



UPDATE - 13 February 2011 -

I ran these photographs through Photoshop and tried to clean and sharpen the images.

They seem a little clearer now.

I know a few friends visit this site regularly for updates.  Hope this is an improvement.










































































7 comments:

coolo said...

Thank you very much because you have conserved the old story of Taipei for Taiwanese. I live in GongGuan nowand I am very happy to see the old picture of my city and my railway.

David Cheng said...

Thanks for your great photo!!
I`m living near GongGuan.And I`m a railway fan just 24 years old.But these pics really let me moved.

Lin said...

thank you for sahring these pictures.
I like your blog very much

richardfan said...

Thanks for your shots. I have interest in old photo and railroad, so I find out an apartment you lived before. See http://photo.xuite.net/richardfan/3271340/1.jpg

The red mark is an apartment, the blue mark is old bungalow in your shot and still there, the magenta mark is railroad crossing and the green mark is lane to Roosevelt Road.

Sofia said...

It's VERY close to my parents' home -- where I grew up! Actually I am sitting very close to the position where the first pic was taken. My mom and I studied those pix for a long time! :)

Sofia said...

I wonder whether the 1st pic was taken from (or near)this place:
http://www.wenshan.org.tw/archives/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=221:2013-10-31-10-28-18
There are some 2-story buildings which looked like the houses rented to Americans in Taichung near this church.

Sofia said...

OMG! I see the location of my parents' home in the 2nd pic!