BackStories » Saigon » Saigon Seeks Foreign Expertise to Preserve Dinh Thuong Tho After Public Backlash

Saigon Seeks Foreign Expertise to Preserve Dinh Thuong Tho After Public Backlash

The building, located at 59-61 Ly Tu Trong Street, has long been listed for demolition to pave way for a renovation plan. 

The plan, however, received pushback from many city residents and architects. Back in 2018, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture said that, since the building was not listed as a heritage building, it was technically not qualified for preservation. However, prolonged objections and petitions from the public did make an impact on the planning and architecture department's opinions. Now, the planning authority is suggesting that international experts should be hired to aid with the preservation process of the building, VnExpressreports.

Before announcing their proposal, the department held a meeting with local experts to gather opinions. According to the news source, few proved that they can provide the assistance needed to preserve the building. Therefore, the department suggests that international experts should be tasked with finding a direction for the building's preservation and coming up with a detailed plan. 

This doesn’t mean that demolition of the building is completely off the table, as one of the preservation options available includes building a replica, among other possibilities, such as maintaining the whole structure or only keeping the façade.

The building, which is currently the headquarters of the city’s Department of Information and Communications, was first built in 1875 and refurbished in 1881. The building was once the headquarters for the Office of the Direction of the Interior, an important locus of French colonial administration power.

[Photo via Soha]


Related Articles:

Date With the Wrecking Ball: The Former Secretariat du Gouvernement Building, 59-61 Ly Tu Trong

New Proposals Suggest Repairing or Replacing Nam Dinh Cathedral With Replica

Old Saigon Building of the Week: The Glitz and Glam of Tu Do Nightclub


Related Articles

in Saigon

$100,000 Diamond Allegedly Vanishes From Woman’s Finger In HCMC Hotel

A Hanoi woman claims that she was drugged at a HCMC hotel last weekend and awoke to find that a $100,000 diamond had been pried from her ring.

in Saigon

100,000 Workers at Saigon Industrial Zones to Get Free WiFi by 2019

Workers at Saigon’s industrial zones can look forward to free WiFi access in the near future thanks to a new program.

in Saigon

100-Year-Old Trees In Front Of Opera House Cut Down To Make Way For Metro

Flower Street and the statues in front of Bến Thành Market aren’t the only sacrifices being made to accommodate the construction of Saigon’s first metro line.

in Saigon

122-Year-Old Saigon Woman Confirmed As World’s Oldest

The World Records Association (WRA) has completed the verification process and officially confirmed Saigon’s 122-year-old Nguyen Thi Tru, as the world’s oldest woman.

in Saigon

160 Wood Benches Being Added To Nguyen Hue Street

The trees that were cut down last July during construction of the metro station in front of the Saigon Opera House are making a comeback in the form of benches.

in Saigon

2 Men Arrested In HCMC For Trying To Ship Gun and Grenade In Guitar Case

Two local men were arrested last Tuesday after attempting to ship a rifle, grenade and 5 bullets to Hanoi in a guitar case. Surprisingly, neither of the men were Antonio Banderas.

Partner Content