Haiqiang Kindergarten Slide

Visitors to the Nanmenkou Park (South Gate Park) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan will be struck by the sight of an old concrete spiral slide, its staircase flanked by red wrought iron railings. No one can use this slide, as the way up is blocked by iron bars.

Rather, it is one of the few enduring traces of Haiqiang Kindergarten, built on the site for children of Taiwan’s Naval officers and sailors in 1961. The kindergarten was later torn down to make way for a park, but the slide remained as an odd commemoration of the space’s past.

A sign nearby informs visitors of the slide’s history and dwells on its architectural details, from its “arc-shaped handrails” to the “Tuscan column” with “classical Ionic capital decoration” that holds up the slide.