Built in 1921, the former Taipei City Hall building was originally the home of Jan Cheng Elementary School . Opened in the period of Japanese rule, the school had a student body that was predominantly Japanese with only a handful of Taiwanese students. In the post-war era, it was used to house the city government and became an important landmark for local citizens.

The two-story brick building is a model of architectural symmetry. Above the central hall is the spacious old assembly with its high ceiling. A bell tower rises from the center of the roof highlighting its distinctive architectural style. As Taipei developed, the city government moved to a new location in Xinyi District, designating the frontispiece of the building as an historic landmark. After refurbishment, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA Taipei) opened i n May 2001, as the first museum in Taiwan to be dedicated exclusively to Contemporary Art.