The elegant colonial villa at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo, soon to be demolished
This article was published previously in Saigoneer http://saigoneer.com
Permission was given recently to demolish another of the city’s old French buildings, the former SAMIPIC mansion at 606 Trần Hưng Đao.
In April 2015, it was reported that the authorities were considering an application to destroy the old mansion at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo in order to make way for a new tower block. It is understood that city leaders have now given the plan the green light and demolition is expected to commence very soon.
According to local historians, 606 Trần Hưng Đạo was once the site of an old Khmer pagoda, but by 1932 that had been demolished to make way for the current building, an elegant villa built for the state-franchised charity lottery company known as the Société pour l’amélioration morale, intellectuelle et physique des indigènes de Cochinchine (SAMIPIC).
The MAAG headquarters at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo in 1962 (unknown photographer)
Set up by decree of the Governor of Cochinchina in October 1927 to administer a 600,000 piastre state lottery, SAMIPIC was run by a committee which “grouped together the élite of Annamite society” (Gazette coloniale, 1936). It sold 2-piastre lottery tickets to the public and then donated a substantial part of its income to charitable, health and educational causes in Cochinchina. It also “organised conferences, and every year offered a number of scholarships in France and in the colony to the most deserving students.”
SAMIPIC’s achievements included setting up the Maison des Associations Annamites in Saigon in 1929 and funding the construction of the “Maison indochinoise” at the Cité Universitaire de Paris, which was inaugurated on 22 March 1930 by French President Gaston Doumergue and the young King Bảo Đại.
SAMIPIC was housed initially in a small villa at 76 rue de Lagrandière [Lý Tự Trọng], but on 16 February 1933, La Croix newspaper reported the inauguration of its brand new headquarters at 96 boulevard Galliéni (now 606 Trần Hưng Đạo). The building was later described as “superb,” with “magnificent decor” (Écho annamite, 6 September 1941).
Another view of the MAAG headquarters at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo from 1963 (unknown photographer)
After the departure of the French in 1954, the villa was acquired by the American government and became home to the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), which co-ordinated the supply of military hardware, training and assistance to the French and subsequently to the Republic of Việt Nam. Because of its high profile, the villa was one of three US installations in the city targeted by the National Liberation Front on 22 October 1957.
In February 1962, following the arrival of the first US Army aviation units, MAAG became part of the Military Assistance Command Việt Nam (MACV), which was set up to provide a more integrated command structure with full responsibility for all US military activities and operations in Việt Nam.
At first, MACV staff shared the villa at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo with their MAAG colleagues, but in May 1962 they were given separate accommodation on Pasteur street (see 137 Pasteur). From that date until 1967, the villa at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo was known as “MACV II.” MAAG survived as a separate entity until May 1964, when its functions were fully integrated into MACV.
In August 1967, MACV vacated the villa, moving all of its operations to the new “Pentagon East” complex at Tân Sơn Nhất Air Base. 606 Trần Hưng Đạo subsequently became the headquarters of the Republic of Korea Forces Vietnam (ROKFV), which remained at the villa until the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973.
Until recently, the villa at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo was home to several local businesses.
UPDATE – Despite its heritage value, this building was demolished in August 2018.
The Republic of Korea Forces Vietnam (ROKFV) headquarters building at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo in February 1969 (photograph via fold3.com)
The MACV II headquarters at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo, pictured some time between 1962 and 1967 (unknown photographer)
The Republic of Korea Forces Vietnam (ROKFV) headquarters building at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo in February 1969 (photograph via fold3.com)
The Republic of Korea Forces Vietnam (ROKFV) headquarters building at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo in the late 1960s (unknown photographer)
The Republic of Korea Forces Vietnam (ROKFV) headquarters building at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo in 1969 (unknown photographer)
Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)
A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.
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