The Taipei Film House (SPOT) occupies the former residence of the United States ambassador, a white colonial-style mansion built in 1926 and used by American envoys until Washington switched recognition to Beijing in 1979. The director Hou Hsiao-hsien led the campaign to save the building, which reopened in 2002 as an arthouse cinema run by the Taiwan Film and Culture Association.
It is a relaxed, leafy spot just off Zhongshan North Road: two small screening rooms showing independent and classic films, a bookshop, a bar and a garden cafe on the verandah. A pleasant place to break a walk through the Zhongshan district.