The 99-door villa is nearly a hundred years old

The oldest elevator and mysterious anecdote

In 1929, at the house of Mr. Hua Bon Hoa’s family (popularly known as Uncle Hoa or Hoa) – one of the richest families in Saigon at that time, there was an event that hundreds of years later many people still mentioned. That was the appearance of the first elevator in Vietnam, (which was probably the whole of Indochina because at that time Saigon was almost the most developed place in this territory). The elevator, designed by a French architect, was installed in the 99-door villa of the Hua family.

The elevator is designed in the style of an old mandarin palanquin. The material is made of old wood, so it is very good, not damaged by termites. The texture of the elevator is carved quite sophisticatedly and unique. Works great for almost 90 years, helps a lot with the move. The car is made of wood, the elevator is about 2.5 meters high, 2 meters wide, and 1.2 meters deep, enough for 5 people to stand. The elevator is in the front row of the mansion and around this block, there has long been a rather creepy anecdote. It is a female ghost who is the daughter of the house owner who died of leprosy “occasionally appears mysteriously in the dark with mournful cries”. I don’t know what the “ghost of the Hua family” anecdote is based on, but the elevator has been there for nearly a hundred years and no one has been “captured by the ghost”. And Mr. Bon Hoa’s wish before he died was to build a large building for everyone in the family to live together, but he was unable to do this while he was still alive.

30 years after his death, his descendants according to his will hired a French architect to design and build a very beautiful villa with a modern elevator system inside, but the old wooden elevator is still kept there. At that time, this was the first family with an elevator in Vietnam. Although he is a French architect, this designer has designed a mini-elevator not with European influences, but in the Asian instead with the main material being carved wood which is very sophisticated and unique. The inside is decorated and carved like an old mandarin palanquin.

Become a precious artifact

After 1975, Mr. Hua Bon Hoa’s family moved abroad to live and settle. The old house was restored and redesigned by the city government to become the Fine Arts Museum to serve tourists. This place keeps an invaluable artifact associated with a historical period, a symbol of the first elevator of Vietnam. The special thing is that the ancient elevator is nearly a hundred years old, although made of wood, it still has no termites and is still functioning. Currently, the elevator is only used to transport tourists who are the elderly and disabled to visit this place. In addition, the elevator are also used to transport lacquer paintings or heavy statues. Around the elevator is cladded with glass panes to create light inside, and a small electric bulb is installed for lighting.

This elevator is very simple to use. Users only need to step inside, close the door and press the location of the floor they need. If it is dark, the light can be turned on via the push button on the operating panel. The elevator is operated by a wire rope pulled from an electrically powered rotary motor. Its structure is also very simple, consisting of only 2 round iron axle fixed to the wall and like a rail to help the elevator slide up. Underneath the elevator are also placed 4 support springs to prevent the elevator from touching the floor. Despite being so old and through many times of maintenance, this elevator still works well. Currently, in the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, in addition to this elevator, there are still many artifacts that were used in the house of Mr. Hua Bon Hoa.

Every day, this place still welcomes the flow of tourists from the country as well as visitors from all over the world to visit. And everyone can’t help but be surprised to see this work of art. The elevator has existed for nearly a hundred years and is still in operation today as a precious historical artifact, a symbol, and a premise for the development of Vietnam’s elevator industry.   

Quach Hung

Image: Mr. True