Đường Đồng Khởi

Đường Đồng Khởi, formerly rue Catinat (Catinat street) is a street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.

Crossing of Lê Lợi and Đồng Khởi, District 1, HCMC

History

The street was originally named after the French Warship Catinat that participated in the mid-19th century attacks by France when that country was intent on seizing control of Viet Nam. The ship itself honored Nicolas Catinat, a 17th and 18th century Marshal of France; but application of name to prominent street was intended to remind strollers of the first step toward control of a vanquished nation by a colonial power Before its present incarnation as Đồng Khởi visitors to Saigon will remember Tự Do Street, as it was called by the Vietnamese after the French departed.[1][2][3]

Đường Đồng Khởi is the location of a number of famous colonial buildings:

  • Hotel Continental, the old foreign journalists' hang-out. Restored somewhat earlier than the other hotels, it has a more Vietnamese feel and is cheaper. The outdoor bar is gone, but the lobby one is furnished in rattan.
  • Hotel Majestic, located where the street meets the Saigon River. Built in 1925, with a central courtyard and a roof bar. French restoration, French prices.
  • Grand Hotel, on the next corner in from the Majestic. A very French restoration—cream stucco and white marble dark mahogany, liveried attendants. The original building, the home of Fowler and Phuong in The Quiet American may be seen among the photos in Norman Sherry's biography of the author.
  • Palais Cafe, a bar, also renovated.[4]

Notes and references
  1. Vietnam - Page 259 9624211264 Helen West - 1992 A large and elegant Mosque at 66 Dong Du Street serves Saigon's Islamic community. It was built on the site ... A statue of the Virgin Mary stands on a pillar in front of the cathedral looking down Dong Koi Street (formerly rue Catinat).
  2. Going Back: An Ex-marine Returns to Vietnam - Page 94 William Daniel Ehrhart - 1987 - Snippet view On the sidewalk in front of one shop, imbedded in a tile mosaic, I notice the words "Rue Catinat. ... from Graham Greene's novel, The Quiet American, but I had not realized that it was the same street later renamed Tự Do and finally Đồng Khởi.
  3. La géographie - Page 62 2006 Nous descendons à pied l'ancienne et célèbre rue Catinat, rebaptisée Dong Koi (rue de l'insurrection générale), pour atteindre l'angle de la rue Lê loi, ancien boulevard Bonnard, qu'occupe le mythique hôtel Continental restauré, privé de sa ...
  4. http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/graham_greenes_vietnam.aspx


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