Named JFK Square until the commies took over.
Almost five decades ago, Saigon didn’t have much in terms of
high-rise buildings; however, judging by the amount of people hanging
about in public spaces, street life was as much a big part of
metropolitan life as it is today.
This collection of photos, taken by American soldier Carl Nielsen,
was created in 1970 during Nielsen’s stay in the metropolis teaching
English in a military facility. “I was teaching English at a military
language school. So [I] had some free time to observe the local culture,
and act like a tourist,” he writes on a photo of himself at the Saigon
Zoo.
During the course of his stay, Nielsen wandered around his
neighborhood, visited some landmarks and took a few trips to the zoo to
people-watch. He seemed to have taken an interest in local religious
structures, as evidenced by a number of shots showcasing various
Buddhist and Hindu temples in town.