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Embassy of the United States, Saigon
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Embassy of the United States, Saigon
The United States Embassy in Saigon was first established in June 1952, and moved into a new building in 1967 and eventually closed in 1975. The embassy was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Cong attack during the Tet Offensive which helped turn American public opinion against the war, and the helicopter evacuation during the Fall of Saigon after which the embassy closed permanently.
In 1995, the U.S. and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam formally established relations and the embassy grounds and building were handed back to the United States. The former embassy was subsequently demolished in 1998 and is currently a park inside of the U.S. Consulate General's compound in what is now called Ho Chi Minh City.
The U.S. diplomatic presence in Saigon was established on 9 December 1907, as a consulate. It acted as a representative to French Indochina succeeding an American commercial agent that had been established in Saigon in 1889. The United States granted recognition to the State of Vietnam led by the Bảo Đại government in 1950, and on 17 February, the Consulate-General in Saigon was elevated to Legation status with Edmund A. Gullion as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Following the Geneva Accords of 1954 and the subsequent partitioning into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, the United States did not extend diplomatic recognition to North Vietnam. On 24 June 1952, after the U.S. Senate confirmed Donald R. Heath as the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam, the Legation in Saigon's status was raised and the embassy was formally established. The first embassy was located at 39 Hàm Nghi Boulevard and the original building remains there today.
On 30 March 1965, the Viet Cong detonated a car-bomb outside the embassy. The attack occurred when a Vietnamese policeman began arguing with the driver of a car parked in front of the embassy but the driver refused to leave and then another Viet Cong member drove up alongside the car and fired on the policeman. Quickly following the brief exchange of fire, the car, which contained 300 pounds of plastic explosives, detonated in front of the embassy killing two Americans, one female CIA employee, Barbara Robbins and another American, as well as 19 Vietnamese and one Filipino serving in the U.S. Navy along with injuring 183 others. The U.S. Congress appropriated $1 million to reconstruct the embassy in a new location following the attack and although retaliatory raids on North Vietnam were suggested, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson refused. Following the attack, South Vietnamese Foreign Minister Tran Van Do posthumously decorated Barbara Robbins and the Filipino navy serviceman with the Medal of Honor First Class.
Due to security concerns following the 1965 bombing, it was decided that a new embassy with greater protection would be constructed. The site selected was a 3.18-acre (12,900 m2) site known as the Norodom Compound at No 4 Thong Nhut (now Le Duan) Boulevard at the corner of Thong Nhut and Mac Dinh Chi Street, near to where the Bến Nghé River enters the Saigon River. The embassy was next to the French embassy, opposite the British embassy, and located near the Presidential Palace.
Although originally designed in early 1965 by the firm Curtis and Davis, their design had only called for three stories and due to the increased U.S. commitment in Vietnam, a larger building was needed. As such in November 1965 the firm Adrian Wilson and Associates were selected to redesign the building. The new design originally called for four stories but was then raised to six, and was built between 1965 and 1967 by the American construction company RMK-BRJ under the direction of the U.S. Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN. RMK-BRJ employed a workforce of 500 Vietnamese, primarily using materials from the U.S. due to the scarcity of commodities in South Vietnam at the time. Despite that the sand and gravel used in the concrete mix, along with the walkway tiles, and the bricks used in all the interior walls were sourced from Vietnam. The embassy was opened on September 29, 1967, after more than two years of construction and cost a total of 2.6 million dollars.
The embassy comprised two separate compounds, a consular compound sealed off by a separate wall and steel gate and the embassy compound with the chancery, behind it was a parking lot, a two-story villa used as a residence by the mission coordinator (a civilian assistant to the United States Ambassador to South Vietnam), a motor pool and other facilities. There were two entry gates, a pedestrian entrance on Thong Nhut Boulevard and a vehicle entrance on Mac Dinh Chi Street. The new chancery was a distinctive six-story white concrete building, with a concrete lattice facade that served to both cool the building and deflect rockets and other projectiles. Due to both aesthetics and security, the chancery was set back from the street. The chancery was a rectangular building, 208 feet (63 m) by 49 feet (15 m), and was enclosed in a walled compound that is 437 feet (133 m) by 318 feet (97 m) (3.18 acres). It was located 60 feet (18 m) inside the compound, protected from both streets by an 8 feet (2.4 m) wall with a 6 inches (150 mm)-thick mixture of cement and marble chips. The lattice facade extends from the first story to the roof, covering the entire building in a protective white terrazzo sunscreen. It was separated from the concrete walls and the shatterproof plexiglass windows of the chancery by five feet of space.
The chancery was designed for a staff of 200, with 49,670 square feet of office space comprising 140 offices. There were also executive offices on the third floor for the Ambassador's office and other high-ranking members of the Mission. It was also air conditioned, had its own water filtration system, and at the rear of the compound, had a power plant consisting of four 350 kilowatt generators. The chancery also had small helipad (75x49-feet) on the roof. A concrete awning extended from the chancery out over the pedestrian entrance on Thong Nhut Boulevard.
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Embassy of the United States, Saigon
The United States Embassy in Saigon was first established in June 1952, and moved into a new building in 1967 and eventually closed in 1975. The embassy was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Cong attack during the Tet Offensive which helped turn American public opinion against the war, and the helicopter evacuation during the Fall of Saigon after which the embassy closed permanently.
In 1995, the U.S. and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam formally established relations and the embassy grounds and building were handed back to the United States. The former embassy was subsequently demolished in 1998 and is currently a park inside of the U.S. Consulate General's compound in what is now called Ho Chi Minh City.
The U.S. diplomatic presence in Saigon was established on 9 December 1907, as a consulate. It acted as a representative to French Indochina succeeding an American commercial agent that had been established in Saigon in 1889. The United States granted recognition to the State of Vietnam led by the Bảo Đại government in 1950, and on 17 February, the Consulate-General in Saigon was elevated to Legation status with Edmund A. Gullion as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Following the Geneva Accords of 1954 and the subsequent partitioning into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, the United States did not extend diplomatic recognition to North Vietnam. On 24 June 1952, after the U.S. Senate confirmed Donald R. Heath as the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam, the Legation in Saigon's status was raised and the embassy was formally established. The first embassy was located at 39 Hàm Nghi Boulevard and the original building remains there today.
On 30 March 1965, the Viet Cong detonated a car-bomb outside the embassy. The attack occurred when a Vietnamese policeman began arguing with the driver of a car parked in front of the embassy but the driver refused to leave and then another Viet Cong member drove up alongside the car and fired on the policeman. Quickly following the brief exchange of fire, the car, which contained 300 pounds of plastic explosives, detonated in front of the embassy killing two Americans, one female CIA employee, Barbara Robbins and another American, as well as 19 Vietnamese and one Filipino serving in the U.S. Navy along with injuring 183 others. The U.S. Congress appropriated $1 million to reconstruct the embassy in a new location following the attack and although retaliatory raids on North Vietnam were suggested, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson refused. Following the attack, South Vietnamese Foreign Minister Tran Van Do posthumously decorated Barbara Robbins and the Filipino navy serviceman with the Medal of Honor First Class.
Due to security concerns following the 1965 bombing, it was decided that a new embassy with greater protection would be constructed. The site selected was a 3.18-acre (12,900 m2) site known as the Norodom Compound at No 4 Thong Nhut (now Le Duan) Boulevard at the corner of Thong Nhut and Mac Dinh Chi Street, near to where the Bến Nghé River enters the Saigon River. The embassy was next to the French embassy, opposite the British embassy, and located near the Presidential Palace.
Although originally designed in early 1965 by the firm Curtis and Davis, their design had only called for three stories and due to the increased U.S. commitment in Vietnam, a larger building was needed. As such in November 1965 the firm Adrian Wilson and Associates were selected to redesign the building. The new design originally called for four stories but was then raised to six, and was built between 1965 and 1967 by the American construction company RMK-BRJ under the direction of the U.S. Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN. RMK-BRJ employed a workforce of 500 Vietnamese, primarily using materials from the U.S. due to the scarcity of commodities in South Vietnam at the time. Despite that the sand and gravel used in the concrete mix, along with the walkway tiles, and the bricks used in all the interior walls were sourced from Vietnam. The embassy was opened on September 29, 1967, after more than two years of construction and cost a total of 2.6 million dollars.
The embassy comprised two separate compounds, a consular compound sealed off by a separate wall and steel gate and the embassy compound with the chancery, behind it was a parking lot, a two-story villa used as a residence by the mission coordinator (a civilian assistant to the United States Ambassador to South Vietnam), a motor pool and other facilities. There were two entry gates, a pedestrian entrance on Thong Nhut Boulevard and a vehicle entrance on Mac Dinh Chi Street. The new chancery was a distinctive six-story white concrete building, with a concrete lattice facade that served to both cool the building and deflect rockets and other projectiles. Due to both aesthetics and security, the chancery was set back from the street. The chancery was a rectangular building, 208 feet (63 m) by 49 feet (15 m), and was enclosed in a walled compound that is 437 feet (133 m) by 318 feet (97 m) (3.18 acres). It was located 60 feet (18 m) inside the compound, protected from both streets by an 8 feet (2.4 m) wall with a 6 inches (150 mm)-thick mixture of cement and marble chips. The lattice facade extends from the first story to the roof, covering the entire building in a protective white terrazzo sunscreen. It was separated from the concrete walls and the shatterproof plexiglass windows of the chancery by five feet of space.
The chancery was designed for a staff of 200, with 49,670 square feet of office space comprising 140 offices. There were also executive offices on the third floor for the Ambassador's office and other high-ranking members of the Mission. It was also air conditioned, had its own water filtration system, and at the rear of the compound, had a power plant consisting of four 350 kilowatt generators. The chancery also had small helipad (75x49-feet) on the roof. A concrete awning extended from the chancery out over the pedestrian entrance on Thong Nhut Boulevard.
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