— do not throw away any trash. The Xiluo Theater (西螺大戲院) is located in the East Market area of Xiluo Township. It ceased operations around the 1980s and is now considered one of the best-known lost places in the area — and quite easy to access. The building can be explored with caution, but never during heavy rain or strong winds. It is not maintained, and sections of the roof could collapse without warning.
The predecessor of the Xiluo Theater was Xiluo-za, first built during the Japanese colonial period in the 1930s. It was reconstructed in 1937 as a two-story building that could accommodate about 500 people.
During World War II, Xiluo-za was used by the Xiluo branch of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association for performing plays and holding public events. After the war, the theater served as a mixed-performance venue featuring dramas, singing, dancing, and movies. It reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Besides entertainment, the theater was also rented out for award ceremonies, reserve military gatherings, and school graduation ceremonies.
In the 1980s, as new commercial areas developed in Xiluo, the district surrounding the theater declined, and it became the last theater in Xiluo to close. By the 21st century, the building had fallen into disuse, with leaking roofs, peeling walls, and structural deterioration. The following older photo shows it still in a better condition.
(An older picture in: Alexander Synaptic, https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2025/03/07/2003833010)
In 2001, the Yunlin County Government registered the Xiluo Theater as a historic building. The owners once discussed renovation plans with the Luoyang Cultural and Educational Foundation. However, because the property was jointly owned by several private individuals, the revitalization plan was never realized.
(Such wooden roof constructions are characteristic of buildings from that era.)
In 2017, the land and building were put up for sale for over NT$36 million by the property owners. Although the county government approved a restoration and reuse project and commissioned a consulting firm to conduct research and planning, nothing seems to have happened since. The roof and interior appear to be beyond restoration.
The Xiluo Theater is a reinforced concrete and brick structure. It is a beautiful building that seems frozen in time. Its main façade features Art Nouveau decorations, with ventilation windows and wooden louver windows. The Baroque-style stucco moldings on the gable walls add ornamental detail, while linear patterned tiles decorate the surface. The interior layout is symmetrical, with staircases on both sides. The first floor includes a stage and seating area, with cypress-wood workspace mezzanines on both sides of the stage and a wooden roof truss structure in the central section. The second floor contains additional seating and a projection room. This part should no longer be entered — it is highly unstable and at risk of collapse.
Judging from its current state, all the blog posts about the theater must be at least ten years old. The building has suffered greatly since then.
In Xiluo, many old settlements have been left to decay. The trees are causing significant damage to the structures.
Often, people in Taiwan use creative ways to discourage littering, as the title suggests.
It reminds me of a sign in Neili: “If you poop or pee here, your children won’t have an asshole or a cock.”
(copyright Claudius Petzold)
