When Ali Swanson guest blogged yesterday, she sent me a couple of images of the old Magasins Reunis building in Hanoi. For the life of me, I couldn’t successfully embed the link in the text.
So here’s one of those images.
It was quite a beauty even in black and white (another image showed a yellow building, not unlike the one Ali posted yesterday). I love the art deco clock on top and the bas-relief below it, which was covered by that striking Communist propaganda poster featured in Ali’s 1992 photo.
And what about Paul Bert, for whom this street was named?
I searched the web and learned he was a professional student in his early years, earning degrees in medicine, physiology, law, and zoology. Then he went into politics.
In 1886 at the age of 53, Bert was appointed resident-general in Vietnam. The poor man didn’t last the year and died of dysentery in Hanoi.
Love the picture! Thanks for sharing. Sucks about how he died. There are ways and there are ways. That one’s not pleasant. 🙁 Thanks for dropping by the blog!
Thanks so much! It is very sad that he died so quickly after moving to Vietnam and that it was a tragic death. I’m going to add your blog to my Blogroll. Don’t know how I missed that one. For anyone reading this comment, it’s http://ronempress.blogspot.com