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central pavilion had marble floors, while the other floors were tiled. The palace was T-shaped, and had two rows of arched windows along the front, looking out on the city. Offices and official reception rooms were on the ground floor, with the governor's residential rooms above. The leg of the T held the reception hall and adjoining ballrooms, surrounded by lush foliage. As reported by the
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left, the council chamber, the dining room, the telegraph room and the secretariat of the Privy
Council; and in the middle, a magnificent hall with a double marble staircase by which one ascends to the first floor rooms. At the end of the hall is the richly decorated ceremonial room, which backs perpendicularly onto the rear facade of the palace and may easily accommodate 800 guests.
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tons, iron frame – 150 tons, masons’ pay – 52,600 francs, carpenters – 22,105 francs, stone cutters – 25,661 francs, roof–coverers – 7,618 francs, blacksmiths – 805 francs, non–skilled workers – 32,580 francs. The finishing and decoration work was carried on until 1875. The total cost of the Palace amounted to 4,714,662 francs.
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supply 500 litres (110 imp gal; 130 US gal) of clean water daily to the palace. There was debate about whether to create a large lawn in the 200 metres (660 ft) long space between the main entrance and the front steps, or whether to install a water feature. It was described in 1885 as follows,
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entablatures, that is to say 10 meters above the ground, and when the frame of the ground floor and that of the first floor have been installed, the basic construction work up to the first floor will be completed. If the iron frame is received as scheduled, this building could be inaugurated in
January 1870.
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The palace has a facade not less than 80 metres in length, with two pavilions at either end and a central dome, access ramp and covered stairway. The ground floor, raised above a basement and containing kitchens and ancillary rooms, contains: on the right, offices, the cabinet of the
Governor; on the
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Following are some figures concerning the materials used and a breakdown of manpower cost by Sept. 25, 1869: concrete – 581 cubic meters, granite blocks – 2,000 m3, sand – 2,890 m3, lime –1,280 m3, granite stones – 600 m3, cement – 151 tons, bricks – 4,860,000 units, tiles – 100,000, frame wood – 802
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The facade was 80 metres (260 ft) long, and it was placed in the center of a rectangle 400 by 300 metres (1,310 by 980 ft). The park covered 13 hectares (32 acres). Eight main roads extended from the road that ran round the park and the palace. As of 1872 a large cistern was being built to
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The Saigon
Governor's Palace was intended to impress the local people with France's power and wealth. The building was in neo-Baroque style. The walls were in yellow stucco, on foundations of granite imported from France. The facade was decorated by carvings in smooth white stone, also imported. The
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turned out to be waterlogged and the foundations required constant repair to counteract subsidence throughout the building's life. Most of the materials were imported from France, adding to the cost. Completion of construction was celebrated informally on 25 September 1869 with a banquet and a ball
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The foundation is from 3 to 3m50 deep, representing a total of 2,436 cubic metres. 2,000,000 bricks have been used; the basement floor of fine blue Bien Hoa granite has been completed. The floor above, serving as ground floor and where the reception halls are located, is completed up to the
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It contained the residence of the
Governor of Cochinchina, administrative offices, reception rooms and ballrooms. The imposing and very expensive neo-Baroque building was intended to impress the people of Saigon with the power and wealth of the French. In 1887 the main seat of government in
379:. The Governor of Cochinchina became a Lieutenant Governor, and a less pretentious residence was created for him by adapting a nearby trade exhibition hall that was under construction, completed in 1890. For the rest of the French colonial era the palace, also known as
297:, who had met him in Hong Kong. Hermitte's priority was to design a new Governor's Mansion since the existing wooden building was in disrepair. La Grandière laid the cornerstone for this building on 23 March 1868, a block of blue granite from
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Given the Hong Kong connection, this article follows the
British convention of referring to the ground floor, above which is the first floor. In American terminology these would be the first and second
257:, and soon after the Lieutenant Governor of Cochinchina moved to a new, less pretentious mansion. The building continued to be used for ceremonial purposes, and became the residence of the President of
383:, was used only for ceremonial purposes and by Governors General when they visited Saigon. Subsidence often forced costly repairs to the foundations. The central dome had to be replaced in 1893.
325:. Dupré moved into the building that year, and the decorations were completed in 1875. The total cost was 12 million francs, over a quarter of the budget for public works in Cochinchina.
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On 7 September 1954 the French handed the palace over to the South
Vietnamese government, which renamed it Independence Palace and used it as the presidential palace of
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two airplanes bombed the building and demolished the left wing. President Diệm then ordered the whole building demolished and the present
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In 1865 a competition for a new gubernatorial palace in Saigon was announced. There were two entries, one of which may perhaps have been
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Work on the huge governor's palace began in earnest when
Hermitte brought in skilled workmen from Canton and Hong Kong. The site of the
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in 1954. It was bombed and badly damaged during an attempted coup in 1962, torn down and replaced by the present
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for everyone involved in the project. The final, formal opening of the palace took place in 1873 under
Governor
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In
October 1887 Cochinchina became part of the Indo-Chinese Union, whose governor-general was based in
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containing a lead coffer that in turn contained newly-minted gold, silver and copper coins of
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558:"The Hôtel du Gouvernment in Saigon: Capital of our Cochinchina territories"
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Davies, Stephen (2014), "Achille-Antoine Hermitte (1840–70?)",
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Finding the Dragon Lady: The Mystery of Vietnam's Madame Nhu
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Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
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623:"Saigon's Palais Norodom – A Palace Without Purpose"
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583:, Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch: 201–216,
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Head of state residence in Saigon, French Indochina
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670:Demolished buildings and structures in Vietnam
312:The palace being lit up in the evening in 1922
650:Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City
285:'s. The Governor of Cochinchina, Admiral
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40:The Governor's Palace in Saigon, 1873
75:Norodom Palace, Independence Palace
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595:Demery, Monique Brinson (2013),
403:coup attempt on 27 February 1962
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556:Charton, Edouard, ed. (1872),
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1:
621:Doling, Tim (6 August 2014),
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234:Palais du Gouverneur, Saigon
28:Palais du Gouverneur, Saigon
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287:Pierre-Paul de La Grandière
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283:Achille-Antoine Hermitte
225:Saigon Governor's Palace
216:Achille-Antoine Hermitte
154:10.776944°N 106.695278°E
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22:Saigon Governor's Palace
660:Presidential residences
589:jroyaaisasocihkb.54.201
207:Design and construction
96:Head of state residence
562:Le Magasin Pittoresque
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338:on 20 December 1868,
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237:), also known as the
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318:Palais du Gouverneur
407:Independence Palace
291:Pierre-Gustave Roze
263:Independence Palace
243:Independence Palace
150: /
101:Architectural style
80:General information
665:Palaces in Vietnam
336:Courrier de Saigon
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277:The palace in 1896
323:Marie Jules Dupré
241:and then renamed
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194:Technical details
72:Alternative names
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269:Construction
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212:Architect(s)
111:Town or city
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511:Doling 2014
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458:Davies 2014
446:Davies 2014
199:Floor count
178:Inaugurated
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145:106°41′43″E
132:Coordinates
105:Neo-Baroque
644:Categories
632:2017-07-17
614:2018-07-17
567:2018-07-17
396:Madame Nhu
351:reported,
186:Demolished
142:10°46′37″N
88:Demolished
434:Citations
401:During a
329:Structure
299:Biên Hòa
549:Sources
530:, PT58.
426:floors.
121:Country
655:Saigon
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229:French
115:Saigon
85:Status
585:JSTOR
413:Notes
377:Hanoi
255:Hanoi
603:ISBN
394:and
293:and
223:The
189:1962
181:1873
93:Type
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