Started in 1886 in the premises of Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco) in Xuan Hoa ward, the ancient water tower is considered a long-standing structure still existing in Ho Chi Minh City. This is also the oldest water tower among nearly 10 water towers still preserved in the city.
The body of the building is painted yellow, surrounded by a load-bearing wall system thick from 1.6-2 m. The foundation is built with many layers of granite, contributing to creating a solid structure for more than a century. The main door is more than 2 m high with sophisticated carved motifs, while the window system and nearly 20 ventilation panels are designed synchronously, of which 5 panels are fitted with ventilation fans.
Since 2018, the ground floor has been renovated by Sawaco into a traditional room, displaying more than 200 artifacts, images and documents about the formation and development of the Ho Chi Minh City water supply industry. Previously, this area was mainly used as a place to store records and serve administrative work.
The exhibition space gathers many artifacts associated with the development of the city's water supply industry. Prominent are water meter models, valves, corner locks and many types of pipes used from the 1950s-1960s. In addition, many tools serving the operation and maintenance of the water supply system are also preserved almost intact to this day.
After many decades of operation, the water tower officially stopped operating from 1965. Over 140 years, the project has been preserved as a precious vestige of the old Saigon urban infrastructure system. In 2014, the water tower was recognized as a historical - cultural and architectural relic.
