Public drinking places are not only the concrete representation of drinking cultures, but also culturally patterned spaces. Under the changing political and economic circumstances in 20th century Taiwan, varieties of drinking culture took form, and diverse drinking places with different Zeitgeists came into existence. By examining Taiwanese newspapers from the Japanese Colonial Period onward, this article explores three different kinds of public drinking places in Taiwan: drinking parlors, bars, and beer houses.Drinking parlors and bars were places with limitations of class and gender. Drinking parlors flourished from the Japanese Colonial Period onwards and were considered by social elites as the place for their social intercourse and articulation of their political views. Bars were places frequented only by U.S. Army soldiers during the wars in Asia during the 1950s and 1960s, or by foreigners in Taiwan. Additionally, these two kind of drinking places were "exclusively male"; females were seen as com- modities to be consumed. These venues provided closed and dimly lit spaces like drinking boxes and nicely furnished rooms for customers who desired privacy. By contrast, beer houses current in 1980s were open regardless of class and gender. The open atmosphere in the beer house, which was a place where after work everybody could drink and talk, provided open or semi-open spaces integrated with the surroundings, and anticipated the development of democratic society in Taiwan.