During colonialism, a Vietnamese person stepping into Ville Francaise (the French City) - which was sometimes also known as Khu phố Tây (the Westerners' Quarter) - felt like a foreigner in the capital of his own country. Today, Hanoians still refer to that sector of the city as the "French Quarter."
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| Trang Tien street |
The French Quarter's main artery is Trang Tien Street, once called Rue Paul Bert in honour of the French resident general of Tonkin in 1886. Trang Tien was famous during the colonial era for its imposing department store - Les Grands Magasin Reunis on the corner of Trang Tien and Hang Bai Streets - as well as its cafes with live music, its luxurious hotels and restaurants, chic cinemas, and, of course, the majestic Municipal Theatre. During colonialism, the spacious nearby avenues also bore French names, such as Boulevard Gambetta (now Tran Hung Dao) named for French Prime Minister Leon Gambetta (1838-1882) and Boulevard Felix Faure (now Tran Phu) honouring the president of the French Republic from 1895 to 1899. The magnificent trees and lavish neo-classical villas on these streets contrasted with the Ancient Quarter's narrow, compact lanes devoid of trees and teeming with Vietnamese residents.
When the War of Resistance Against France ended in 1954, Vietnamese reclaimed the Westerners' Quarter. However, Viet Nam soon faced another war, this one against the United States. When that war ended in 1975, a collective feeling developed in Viet Nam around the need to preserve Ha Noi's architectural heritage, including the citadel, the Ancient Quarter, and the French Quarter. Over the years, many governments, organizations, and foreign individuals - including both French and Americans - have participated in the preservation of Ha Noi's French architectural heritage.
In 1875, the French secured the heart of the Westerners' Quarter on the banks of the Red River as part of a military concession after they first occupied Ha Noi. The French Quarter gradually extended to the south of the Ancient Quarter and spread its checkered pattern of streets to the east of Hoan Kiem Lake until it reached the Red River Dike, thereby forming the current shape of the southern part of today's Hoan Kiem District.
Hoan Kiem was and is the hub of Ha Noi's administrative, economic, commercial, and public-service sectors. Its examples of remarkable French architecture include Saint Joseph's Cathedral (40 Nha Chung Street, designed by an unknown architect and finished in 1883); the Municipal Theatre (a smaller version of the Opera House in Paris designed by Charles Garnier, 1 Trang Tien Street, finished in 1911), the Government Guest House (12 Ngo Quyen Street, formerly the Residence of the French Resident Superior of Tonkin, finished by architect Auguste-Henri Vildieu in 1911); the General Office of the Labour Union (formerly the Railway Company of Indochina and Yunnan, 65 Quan Su, finished by an unknown architect in 1902); the Supreme Court (48 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, built between 1900 and 1906 by Auguste-Henri Vildieu); the History Museum (formerly the French Institute of Oriental Study Louis Finot Museum at 1 Pham Ngu Lao, built by architect Ernest Hebrard between 1925 and 1932), the Pasteur Institute (1 Yersin Street, finished by architect Gaston Roger in 1930), as well as many magnificent private villas.
During colonialism, the Western Quarter also covered a vast area beyond the citadel that was limited on the north by West Lake and on the west by To Lich River. Today, this extension is in Ba Dinh District and includes many examples of French architecture: the Presidential Palace (formerly the French Governor General's Palace on Hung Vuong Street, designed by Auguste-Henri Vildieu, completion date unknown); the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (formerly the French Bureau des Finances at the end of Dien Bien Phu Street, completed by architect Ernest Hebrard in 1931); the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (formerly Lycee Albert Sarrault at 1B Hoang Van Thu Street, completed in 1919 by Verneuil & Gravereaud), as well as many fine houses that are now embassies.