DIVERSE STYLES - INDIGENOUS FEATURES
When looking at the "great legacy" of architectural works in Saigon - Cho Lon from collected documents, "Saigon scholar" Phuc Tien was extremely surprised by the diversity and harmony of many styles. He discovered that in the period 1865 - 1900, most of the mansions and public works were modeled after the mother country, with many styles of Empire, Neoclassical, Neo-Renaissance, creating powerful impressions.
"To build buildings suitable for the tropical climate, French architects in Saigon "localized" some details such as placing wide open corridors around the house, building a moisture-proof basement. Or designing large window frames and doors with shutters or fabric curtains to block out the sun and rain. The human resources for design and construction as well as materials for the buildings were mobilized from France, Singapore and Hong Kong, while still using many local sources," commented journalist Phuc Tien.
French Indochina architecture in Saigon very early appeared beautiful works with architectural style dotted with indigenous lines, typically the Dragon House (1863) with the rooftop in the style of a Vietnamese communal house, especially the detail of two dragons on the roof. From 1880 onwards, some large structures such as the Central Post Office, the Governor's Palace of Cochinchina (originally the Trade Museum, both works of the chief architect of Saigon Marie-Alfred Foulhoux), began to have more Vietnamese and Khmer motifs such as lotus flowers, Naga snakes, crocodiles...
According to author Phuc Tien, from 1920 - 1930 onwards, new design styles popular in the West such as Beaux-Arts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco were introduced to Indochina, creating many unique works, adding elegant beauty and innovation bearing the mark of international modernism architecture - a trend that continued for many decades after, with a simple yet magnificent beauty.
Front and reception room on the upper floor of Saigon City Hall in the 1910s
"Notable are the Catinat building (1927, now at 26 Ly Tu Trong), the Catinat building at 213 (at the same time, now no longer exists), the Indochina Bank transaction hall (1928), the headquarters of the Franco-Asian Petroleum Company (around 1930, now the Petrolimex building), Hui Bon Hoa Hospital (1937, Saigon Hospital), Saint Paul Hospital (1938, Dien Bien Phu Hospital), the French Navy Officers Club (1938, Government Office in Ho Chi Minh City), the Hui Bon Hoa villa area (1930, Government Guest House)...", the book has been cited.
THE ROLE OF THE CAPITAL OF THE INDOCHINA FEDERATION
Based on a huge "warehouse" of information surveyed in the field and painstaking research over many years - with many valuable photo collections of the National Archives Center II on Saigon and the South from the 19th century to the present - along with information and images distilled from libraries and archives in France, the US, Singapore..., the latest work of journalist Phuc Tien contains a lot of good information about the planning and development of the city on a large scale in the period 1887 - 1945 with vivid illustrations.
Opera House Square and Continental Hotel
PHOTO: LUDOVIC CRESPIN, NATIONAL ARCHIVES II
Regarding the beautiful name Saigon - Pearl of the Far East, author Phuc Tien said: "La Perle de l'Extrême Orient, the pearl of the farthest East, that is the charming way the French called Saigon, more than 100 years ago. It is known that this beautiful name first appeared in some books and newspapers from the end of the 19th century. In 1881, Mr. Jules Blancsubé, the first mayor of Saigon, mentioned the name La Perle de l'Extrême Orient in a speech at the Maritime and Colonial Association. He believed that when the modern waterway and railway system connecting all of Indochina, with Saigon as the center, was completed, this metropolis would truly become the Pearl of the Far East. When reporting on the above exciting conversation, the newspaper L'Avenir diplomatique (Diplomatic Future) , in Paris in April of that year, said that they had cited the British newspaper Times . Thus, perhaps the beautiful name Saigon - The Pearl of the Far East began to spread in the West from the late 19th century. From the 1920s to the 1930s, the above name appeared widely in publications introducing Indochina, as an attractive tourist destination of the world.
The new work also provides additional information: Since 1887, when France established the Indochina Federation (Vietnam (3 regions), Laos, Cambodia and Guangzhou Loan) with Saigon as the capital for 15 years (before transferring to Hanoi), a number of large constructions were built worthy of the capital's status such as: Central Post Office, Court, Commercial Museum (Governor's Palace, after 1911 changed to Governor's Palace of Cochinchina). Few people know that in 1929, Saigon had a trial seaplane tour from Bach Dang Wharf to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Temple in Cambodia. The Indochina Tourism Promotion Office was established in the 1920s, headquartered in Saigon.
The Saigon logo is shown on the metal medal of the 1942 Indochina International Fair. The Latin letters on the Saigon logo mean “Slowly I will grow”
PHOTO: COLLECTION BY MANH HAI FLICKR.COM
The merger of administrative boundaries did not come until now, but from 1920 onwards, the two cities of Saigon and Cho Lon expanded their connections, traffic connections and gradually eliminated empty areas. Binh Tay Market was established in 1928, becoming a commercial center as a "locomotive" for economic development, and at the same time a milestone proving the expansion to the west, approaching two large rural areas of Binh Chanh and Long An. The merger and announcement of the establishment of Région de Saigon-Cho Lon (Saigon - Cho Lon Area), according to the author: "This event marked the granting of Saigon not only a larger space but also a large and effective administrative institution, suitable for the development needs and the population size that had increased many times over the previous century".
In addition, French-Indochinese architecture, the vestige of "Saigon - Pearl of the Far East" is not only attractive because of the "telling with books, telling with... pictures" about the beautiful architectural styles that captivate the soul in the area of Norodom Avenue (now Le Duan Street) with priceless works, Bonard Avenue, Ben Thanh Market and La Somme Avenue with the "Diamond Triangle" Ben Thanh - Bonard - La Somme then Ben Thanh Market, Cho Lon Market, the old Binh Tay Market, Cha Tam Church..., along with many other typical landscapes in Ong Thuong Garden; Phuong Nam Villa; Petrus Truong Vinh Ky School..., but the most unique are still the interesting stories surrounding the first logo of Saigon, not everyone knows in detail.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/me-hoac-cung-nhung-dau-tich-sai-gon-hon-ngoc-vien-dong-185250314211027218.htm
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