Charner Department Store - Tax Trade Center

B NOBLE DEPARTMENT GOODS

According to the book Les Annales coloniales , the GMC building was owned by the Société Coloniale des Grands Magasins, a French company founded in 1921. They were also the owners of the Grands Magasins Réunis building in Hanoi (now Trang Tien Department Store). In 1925, the Saigon Port also installed a large whistle on the roof of the GMC to announce the arrival of ships from France.

Charner Department Store building in 1925 seen from the intersection of Charner (Nguyen Hue) and Bonard (Le Loi)

PHOTO: COLLECTION BY MANH HAI FLICKR.COM

Grand Magasin Charner (Grand Department Store Charner, abbreviated as GMC) is a three-story building overlooking two streets Charner (Nguyen Hue) and Bonard (Le Loi), built around 1922 - 1924. In the center is a round bell-shaped tower, similar in shape to the tower of the famous Au Printemps Department Store in Paris.

However, the top and sides of the GMC tower still have interesting differences because the clock faces are placed under the roof tiles. In addition, the roof tiles here have wavy edges, in the style of ancient Japanese roofs. The roof of the building is covered with tiles that slope down to the upper edge of the top floor, showing more Asian elements. The exterior of the two floors has no balcony, only large windows, including many small glass windows.

In addition, unlike Au Printemps, the ground floor of the Charner Department Store has an additional porch, running along the entire facade of the building. This porch has a slightly curved section showing the elegant lines. Inside the lobby, there are two graceful staircases leading to the first floor. In particular, the tiled floor between the two staircases is designed like a beautiful mosaic patterned carpet. At each end of the railing of the two staircases is a bronze statue of a Gallic rooster - a traditional symbol of France.

Tax Trade Center before being demolished to build a 40-storey shopping mall

Photo: QUYNH TRAN

At that time, department stores were a new type of high-end store in Vietnam. This was a place to introduce high-end consumer goods, mainly for the upper class, divided into many small stalls arranged by product category. Department stores were often located in large buildings, designed in a noble and elegant style.

T HUONG XA HAS BEEN BUSY SINCE THE MID-1950S

GMC Department Store was not the first modern and high-end shopping mall in Saigon. Before that, on Catinat Street (Dong Khoi), there was Bazar Saigonnais (1885, now the Sheraton Hotel) and Les Nouveautés (1887, now the Opera View Building, 161 Dong Khoi) opposite the Hotel du Théâtre (Caravelle Hotel). In addition, on Catinat Street there was also Mottet et Cie (1908, now the extension of the Grand Hotel).

However, the above mentioned department stores were all small in scale, while GMC was many times larger and located in a more imposing building, and had a very convenient location. GMC department store not only showed the new mark of French-Indochinese architecture but also became a commercial symbol of prosperous Saigon. In the late 1940s, the GMC building was modified, the clock tower was removed, to add a new floor on the existing top floor. The front of the building also removed the roof tiles, giving the overall building a similar Art Deco style.

From 1955 to April 1975, GMC changed its name to Tax Trade Center, which was both a luxury shopping center and an office building. The landscape of Nguyen Hue Street in front of the trade center also changed with the appearance of many souvenir kiosks, clothing, music services, fresh flowers... On the sidewalk in front of the trade center, there was sometimes an open-air market selling many PX goods (goods supplied to American soldiers were smuggled out for sale at cheap prices) and goods from many other countries. The Pôle Nord - Bac Cuc ice cream shop was located right on the ground floor of the front of the trade center, overlooking the fountain, and was a popular destination for many families. During Christmas and New Year, the Tax Trade Center area and Nguyen Hue Street were always bustling with people going out and shopping.

After peace was restored, in the first decades, Tax Trade Center was sometimes called General Department Store, City Children's Store. Around the early 1990s, for some years, this place was called "Russian Market" specializing in buying and selling clothes, shoes and many other household goods for customers from socialist countries. Since 1997, the building has returned to its old function, with a variety of activities, including many small shops, supermarkets, restaurants and cafes. The rooms inside the building are all air-conditioned. The building is tiled with granite on the outside and a new floor has been added. On the outer border of the building, separating the third and fourth floors, there is a statue of a Gaulois rooster's head.

Unfortunately, since 2014, Tax Trade Center has stopped operating and in 2016 was completely demolished to build a 40-storey building. But until now, the project has not moved, currently the whole large land is still vacant. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bach-hoa-charner-thuong-xa-tax-185250416213915365.htm