The Old House at 87 Ma May Street

The house at 87 Ma May Street is typical of architecture in Hanoi ‘s Old Quarter. Mã Mây Street was once divided into two smaller streets: Hang May, which specialised in bamboo and rattan goods, and Hang Ma, which was named after Quan Ca Đen (the Black Flag Troops), who had their headquarters there during the French colonial period. Many local and foreign traders, who had converged there for business, gradually settled on that street.

The house at 87 Mã Mây dates from the end of the 19th century. At that time, only one family lived there, but then, five families lived in the house from 1954 to 1998. The residents renovated the house to suit their living needs, in the process damaging architectural elements typical of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The Hanoi-Toulouse program also includes this house. Renovation began in May 1999 and finished that October.

This is one of the few old houses which are kept intact, now used as a visiting place to introduce the traditional architecture of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Many exhibitions, workshops, cultural events are regularly held here. The house is a famous attraction to both local and foreign tourists, and an address where reproduce vivid picture of busy living, trafficking scenes of “Hanoi’s thirty six ancient streets.”