Tim Doling in Saigon
Icons of Old Saigon: The Pont Tournant (Swing Bridge)
Many people are familiar with Eiffel's Pont des Messageries Maritimes (Cầu Mống), yet few remember its neighbor, the Pont Tournant (Swing Bridge), which was built by Eiffel's successor company Levallo...
Saigoneer in Saigon
The Lowdown on Chi Hoa, Saigon's Maximum-Security Prison
Chi Hoa Prison, located in the northern half of District 10, is one of Vietnam's most famous high-security facilities. Though it was built over a half-century ago, the seven-hectare prison remains in ...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Ham Nghi Boulevard, Part 2
Home to a tramway terminus, a grand hotel and the first United States Embassy in Saigon, Hàm Nghi's 20th-century story mirrors Vietnam's tumultuous journey. This is the second installment of a two-par...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Ham Nghi Boulevard, Part 1
Once a downtown canal, a breeding ground for crocodiles and the heart of Saigon’s own Chinatown, Hàm Nghi is one of the city’s three widest boulevards.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Icons of Old Saigon: The Artists’ Pagoda and Cemetery in Gò Vấp
The Artists' Pagoda (Chùa Nghệ Sĩ, also known as Nhựt Quang Tự or Phật Quang Tự) and Cemetery in Gò Vấp is the last resting place for practitioners of cải lương ("Reformed Opera"), a popular form of t...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Icons of Old Saigon: The Lost Paris Foreign Missions Society Chapel
Hidden behind the Department of Foreign Affairs building at 4-6 Alexandre de Rhodes is the last surviving relic of that neighbourhood’s long association with the Roman Catholic Church – an abandoned c...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Phương Nam Mansion at 110-112 Võ Văn Tần
After being sold at the astronomical price of US$35 million, it’s beginning to look like one of the city's most exquisite works of colonial architecture has been saved for future generations.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Officials Approve Demolition of French Mansion at 606 Tran Hung Dao
Permission has now been given to demolish another of the city’s old French buildings, the former SAMIPIC mansion at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo.
Saigoneer in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Former Saigon Adventist Hospital
The Phú Nhuận Red Cross Association building at 2 Hoàng Văn Thụ originated in 1960-1961 as the Saigon Adventist Hospital.
Saigoneer in Saigon
Architects Lament the Demolition of Saigon's Old Buildings
With limited space in downtown Saigon, it's pretty well-known that the city's heritage buildings are often in danger of being lost to newer, flashier development projects. More than a few historical s...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With the Wrecking Ball: Thu Thiem Parish Church and Lovers of the Holy Cross Convent
Two of Saigon’s oldest Roman Catholic institutions, located across the river in Thủ Thiêm, may soon be gone.
Saigoneer in Saigon
[Video] This Is What Saigon Looked Like in 1945
There's something wholly captivating about old footage of Saigon. In a city that seems to transform in the blink of an eye, it's rare to find evidence of the southern hub from long ago.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Customs Directorate Building
The Customs Directorate, one of the city’s best-loved colonial landmarks, is the latest in a series of government buildings to face the threat of redevelopment.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Thái Văn Lung Street
One of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the street we know today as Thái Văn Lung bore the name Pasteur Street for over half a century.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets And Squares: Trần Hưng Đạo Boulevard
One of Saigon’s youngest major boulevards, Trần Hưng Đạo was built in 1911-1913 over former swamp land to provide a more direct route between the cities of Saigon and Chợ Lớn.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets And Squares: Hai Bà Trưng Street
One of Saigon’s longest and busiest streets, Hai Bà Trưng is a thoroughfare of great antiquity which dates back more than 200 years.
Saigoneer in Saigon
20 Photos Of 1960s Phu Nhuan
Everyone in Saigon knows the drill: what's a shoe store today might be a phở stall tomorrow. Hairdressers become restaurateurs, office buildings turn into hotels and your favourite bánh mì cart could ...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Icons Of Old Saigon: The Maison Centrale de Saigon
One of the most hated government buildings in colonial Saigon, the Maison Centrale de Saigon (Khám Lớn Sài Gòn), or Saigon Central Prison, was a truly grim institution where thousands of unfortunates ...
Saigoneer in Saigon
30 Old Pictures Of Thu Duc District: Former Weekend Getaway
Thu Duc isn't exactly a place you'd consider going on holiday. Today, the suburban district is home to industrial centers, dusty roads, busy residential neighborhoods and rumbling transport trucks, un...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Pasteur Street
Known for most of the colonial period as Rue Pellerin, Pasteur Street has grown from ancient inner-city waterway to one of the city’s most desirable streets.
