Independence Palace
10°46′37″N 106°41′43″E / 10.77694°N 106.69528°E
| Independence Palace | |
|---|---|
Dinh Độc Lập | |
View of the palace in 2019 | |
| Alternative names | Reunification Hall (Hội trường Thống Nhất) |
| General information | |
| Type | Presidential Palace |
| Architectural style | Vietnamese modernist |
| Address | 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Bến Thành Ward |
| Town or city | District 1, Ho Chi Minh City |
| Country | Vietnam |
| Construction started | 1 July 1962 |
| Completed | 31 October 1966 |
| Height | 26 m |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 4 |
| Floor area | 120,000 sq m |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Ngô Viết Thụ |
| Civil engineer | Phan Văn Điển |
| Other information | |
| Public transit access | L1 Opera House station
L2 Tao Đàn station (Under construction) L4 Turtle Lake station (proposed) |
The Independence Palace (Vietnamese: Dinh Độc Lập), also publicly and officially known as the Reunification Convention Hall or simply Reunification Hall (Vietnamese: Hội trường Thống Nhất), is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It was the site of the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 that ended the Vietnam War, when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.
After the reunification of Vietnam, the building continued to serve as a government and presidential office until 1976 when the capital of South Vietnam was officially moved to Hanoi, and the government’s functions were relocated. The palace is now preserved as a convention hall for state events, also museum that open to the public and being a popular tourist attraction in Ho Chi Minh City.