Free of international-style skyscrapers, Saigon’s urban quarters used to be all red roofs and modernist tube houses in the late 1960s.
In these few film photos, US Army veteran D. Hoag recorded a cool and chaotic Saigon when traffic jams were a city staple and residents rode around the city in áo dài and sunglasses. Hoag stayed on Tran Hung Dao Street, just a few blocks from Ben Thanh Market, and some shots piece together a panoramic look of the diminutive Saigon skyline.
Have a look through D. Hoag’s 1969-1970 visit below:
Pham Ngu Lao Street with the central train station in the distance.
Houses lined De Tham Street.
The red roofs of homes in District 1.
Signage bearing the old name of Tan Son Nhat Airport.
Porters moving ceramic products.
The unplanned suburbs.
An older Saigon lady banters with her friends.
Modernism was, and still is, a popular architecture style in the city.
Shanties along the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal.
Pham Ngu Lao Street.
Nguyen Duy Khang School (now Gia Dinh High School).
Shops selling souvenirs on Nguyen Hue.
The central train station.
Shops along Tran Hung Dao.
De Tham Street.
De Tham Street with the intersection with Bui Vien in the distance.
Tran Hung Dao.
Traffic on Tran Hung Dao.
A building at the corner of Pasteur-Nguyen Du.
A panoramic view of central District 1.
[Photos via Flickr user manhhai]
