Taiwan’s highest authority building, Presidential Office Building, is located on Ketagalan Boulevard in Zhongzheng District. It was designed by a Japanese architect Uheiji Nagano during Japanese-Occupied Periods. The style of the building is a combination of traditional European elements, including Baroque, Neo-Classical features, and Renaissance. Cost of 2.8 million Japanese yen, the building was finished in 1919, and functioned as the Governor-General’s Office.

The building has four ground floors and one underground floor, with a capacity of two thousand people. More than three hundred rooms were designed and most of them are functioned as office rooms. There are also many elegant and magnificent halls and gardens in the building, and a 60 meter tower built with cramp iron and cement. Since the 60 meter tower at the center was the tallest in Taiwan during Japanese-Occupied Periods, it had become the main target for American to bomb during World War II. Bombs hit the front left side, lobby, and northern sections of the building. Bombing at the front left side made many people died in the basement. The fire burned for three days, damaging large parts of the building. After WWII, the building was repaired in 1947, and became the Presidential Office in 1950 after the Republic of China moved to Taiwan. It was designated as a national historical monument.

Part of the building is open to the public from 9am to 12 pm on every Monday through Friday. Backpacks, cameras and camera cell phones are not allowed. However, part of the building is also open to the public during occasional holidays, without any restrictions on cameras.