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Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 32 Hàm Nghi

Notwithstanding its 1939 makeover, the flat iron building at the corner of Hàm Nghi and Hồ Tùng Mậu street is still one of the city’s most attractive colonial relics.

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Old Saigon Building of the Week: The Former Grall Hospital

One of the oldest hospitals in Asia, the Children’s Hospital 2 (Bệnh viện Nhi đồng 2) at 14 Lý Tự Trọng began life as a French military hospital.

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Old Saigon Building Of The Week: The Municipal Theatre

Built by the French at the mid-point of historic rue Catinat, the Municipal Theatre is one of Saigon's most iconic landmarks.

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Icons Of Old Saigon: The Canal Bonard

Though now little more than a rat-infested sewer, the former canal Bonard was once a busy waterway which made an immense contribution to the economic prosperity of Chợ Lớn. As work begins to restore t...

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Icons Of Old Saigon: The Église Sainte-Marie-Immaculée

The Sun Wah Tower at 115 Nguyễn Huệ stands on the site of Saigon’s first Roman Catholic cathedral.

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Date With the Wrecking Ball: Saigon Hospital

The Saigon Hospital at 125 Lê Lợi was originally built in the late 1930s as the Polyclinique Dejean de la Bâtie. The French named it after French doctor Théodose Déjean de la Bâtie, who devoted his li...

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28 Old Pictures of Tet in Saigon

Whether street vendor or office worker in Saigon, Tết traditions, such as gathering with family, praying to the kitchen gods, giving crisp banknotes as lì xì and washing down bánh chưng with beer...

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Icons Of Old Saigon: The Electricity Building

The recently-rebuilt EVN Hồ Chí Minh City Power Company building at 72 Hai Bà Trưng stands on the site of Saigon’s very first electricity station.

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Old Saigon Building Of The Week: The Grand Hotel

One of the city’s most historic hotels, the Grand is better known as the former Saigon-Palace, one of the leading hotels of the 1930s.

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[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Part 3

We’re back with another set of our “Then and Now” photos which contrast old images of Saigon with their present day counterparts. For a much larger collection, head over to the Saïgon-Chợ Lớn The...

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Icons of Old Saigon: The Casino de Saigon

Founded by French businessman Léopold Bernard, the Casino de Saigon was the city’s earliest cinema.

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Icons Of Old Saigon: Établissements Bainier Auto Hall

While foreign visitors still flock to the famous Rex Hotel, few have heard of the Établissements Bainier Auto Hall which preceded it, a building once feted as the greatest automobile dealership in Asi...

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Old Saigon Building Of The Week: The “Y” Bridge

Built by the French during the latter years of the colonial era, Chợ Lớn’s “Y” Bridge became the focus of several important battles during the two Indochina Wars.

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2014: A Turning Point For Conserving Saigon's Historical Buildings?

In the future, 2014 may be remembered as a watershed year in which a popular urban conservation movement emerged to champion the cause of Hồ Chí Minh City’s fast-disappearing built heritage.

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40 Nostalgic Photos Of 1961 Saigon From Life Magazine

When Life Magazine photographer, John Dominis, traveled to Saigon in 1961, he spent most of his trip photographing daily life in the city. With his camera, he captured downtown Saigon’s busy streets, ...

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12 Old Pictures of Christmas in Saigon

The brightly lit Christmas decorations of downtown Saigon seem to getting more elaborate each year. In the 1960s, though still a popular holiday in the South, Christmas was decidedly analog. The diffe...

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Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Vietnam Railways Building

Featured earlier this year as a Saigoneer "Building of the Week," the 100-year-old Vietnam Railways Building at 136 Hàm Nghi is the latest of Hồ Chí Minh City's historic buildings to be threatened wit...

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Travel Back In Time With These 15 Photos Of 1929 Saigon

1929 could be referred to as the beginning of Saigon’s Golden Age. Built on the backs of exploited Vietnamese laborers, the French had carved out what was then called the Pearl of the Orient, a Europe...

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17 Sky-High Photos Of 2002 Saigon

These images, taken in 2002, provide not only a wonderful bird's eye view of Saigon, but also capture its transition into a modern city.

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Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Nguyen Van Cua Imprimerie de l'Union Building

Located close to the Saigon Post Office, the unassuming two-storey white shophouse building at 49-57 Nguyễn Du was once the headquarters of one of the most successful colonial-era printing companies.