Saigon History Museum

Blanchard de la Brosse Museum - Saigon History Museum

The Blanchard de la Brosse Museum in the 1950s ...

...and Saigon train station - Saigon gare, early 20th century

The museum was founded in 1929, also known as the Museum of the Indochinese Studies Society (Musée de Société des Études Indochinoises). The intention to establish the museum dates back to 1882 when the Colonial Council agreed in principle, based on a proposal by Professor Milne-Edwards, to build a museum for the city of Saigon. At that time, the Indochinese Studies Society needed a place to store documents and archaeological artifacts from the Khmer and Cham periods, as well as prehistoric stone tools from the Saigon area and scattered throughout Southern Vietnam, which had been collected through discoveries over the years.

During the period from 1882 to 1929, the museum had to move several times temporarily, such as renting a house (1904) at 140 Pellerin Street (now Pasteur Street), at 16 rue Lagrandière (Ly Tu Trong Street) temporarily from 1917, and until 1925 in the Hôtel du Contrôle financier building at 12 Boulevard Norodom (now Le Duan Street) before moving to the location in the botanical garden. Among the members of the Indochina Research Society in Saigon, there were many well-known figures such as historian Aymonier, doctor Mougeot, Truong Vinh Ky, Truong Minh Ky, Paulus Cua, A. Landes, doctor Dejean de la Batie, Le Van Thong, engineer Thévenet, archaeologist Henri Marchal, Georges Maspero, Nguyen Van Cua (owner of the Nguyen Van Cua printing house).

The museum was built from 1928 and inaugurated on January 1, 1929, after the death of Dr. Victor-Thomas Holbé in 1927. Dr. Holbé was also a man of great knowledge in many fields and a collector of antiques. His house in Maréchal Joffre Square (now Turtle Lake Square) was surrounded by various tropical trees and was a gathering place for many French and Vietnamese intellectuals and scholars to discuss and exchange ideas. His pharmacy at the corner of Catinat and Bonard streets was one of the first pharmacies in Saigon.

Upon his death, not wanting his collection to be dispersed and auctioned off, the Indochina Studies Society (Société des Études Indochinoises) appealed to its members and patrons to donate 45,000 dong to buy back the collection and donate it to the government with the aim of encouraging the authorities to build a museum to house it. This plan was successful, and on November 24, 1927, the Governor of Cochinchina, PaulMarie Blanchard de la Brosse (1926-1929), signed a decree establishing the Saigon Museum. From 1956 to 1975, the Saigon Museum under the Republic of Vietnam was called the Vietnam National Museum (May 16, 1956), managed by the Ministry of Education . In 1970, the museum was expanded, adding a U-shaped building with a central pond, designed by architect Nguyen Ba Lang. After 1975, the museum was renamed the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum.

The building was designed by architect Auguste Delaval and is one of two buildings in Saigon considered typical examples of the distinctive blend of Eastern and Western architecture, Indochinese architecture.

Saigon Railway Station - September 23rd Park

The main railway station in the center of Saigon connected the railway lines to Cholon and My Tho. Before 1915, the main station in Saigon was located at Quai de Commerce (Bach Dang Wharf) at the beginning of Krantz Street (Ham Nghi). It was later moved to the middle of Ham Nghi Street. In September 1915, Saigon Station was moved to the location of the railway maintenance and repair warehouse, which is now 23 September Park. [The current Saigon Station (formerly Hoa Hung Station) is located in District 3 - BT].

Saigon Railway Station was the starting point of the Saigon-My Tho railway line. According to the 1897 Indochina Yearbook, the Saigon-My Tho railway line was entrusted by the government to the Société Genérale des Tramways à Vapeur de Cochinchine (Concessionaire du chemin de fer de Saigon à My Tho, exploitations réunies). The company was headquartered at quai de l'Arroyo-Chinois (Chuong Duong Wharf). Mr. Cazeau was the director of the Société genérale des tramways à vapeur et chemin de fer de Saigon-Mytho, and Mrs. Hyacinthe Vinson was the station master of Saigon. Mrs. Vinson was the wife of lawyer Gustave Vinson, who for a time (1874-1876) was the mayor of Saigon.

The Saigon - My Tho railway line has the following stations: Saigon, Cho Lon, Phu Lam, Binh Dien, Binh Chanh, Go Den, Ben Luc, Binh Anh, Tan An, Tan Huong, Tan Hiep, Luong Phu, Trung Luong, and My Tho. The total length of the Saigon - My Tho line is 70.9 km.

The Saigon-My Tho railway line was a vital means of transportation connecting the capital of Southern Vietnam to the provinces of the Mekong Delta. During the French colonial period, young people going to school or merchants traveling to Saigon often took boats and ships to My Tho, stayed there overnight, and then took the train to Saigon station near Ben Thanh Market the next morning. This provided a convenient and quick way to travel from the countryside to the city. In 1928, on a train journey from My Tho to Saigon, at Ben Luc station, two patriotic revolutionaries, Nguyen An Ninh and Phan Van Hum, after traveling through the provinces to encourage patriotic sentiment among the people, had a confrontation with a station guard. Phan Van Hum was arrested, while Nguyen An Ninh escaped. (to be continued)

(Excerpt from "Urban Architecture and Landscape of Saigon - Cholon Past and Present "; Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-tang-lich-su-sai-gon-ga-xe-lua-sai-gon-18524072122475212.htm