606 Tran Hung Dao isn't the only historic building on the street to be threatened by the wrecking ball. In a move that was seemingly inevitable, the decaying apartment block at 727 Tran Hung Dao will soon be demolished to make room for a new construction.
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Built as military housing for U.S. soldiers during the American War, 727 is one of the many old apartment buildings built in Saigon before 1975 that are neither considered architectural specimens nor hold significant historical value.
Residents play cards in the building's hallways. Photo via Quinn Ryan Mattingly.
Flaunting raw urban decay, for years, photographers and urban explorers have paid off the security guard out front to access the building’s abandoned apartments, rusting stairwells and damp corridors.
A woman dries rice on the floor. Photo by Adam Robert Young.
According to Bao Moi, though demolition has long been in the cards for 727, relocating its remaining residents has been a slow process. It looks like the city has finally forced the issue, naming a new investor, Tam Duc Real Estate, to move the ball forward.
727 Tran Hung Dao seen from the air in 1968. Photo via Manhhai.
There are also rumors that the place is haunted, which, if you’re the superstitious type, doesn’t bode well for the hundreds of construction workers who will be working on the site in the near future.
[Top photo via hphucnguyen]
