[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: The Diem Coup (1963)

In September 1963, reporters and journalists began to hear rumblings about a coup that would ultimately topple the increasingly unpopular Ngo Dinh Diem regime.

Two months later, on November 1, the South Vietnam military successfully ousted the president and his cadres in relatively calm fashion. Though Saigon was spared what could have been a much more violent episode, there was still plenty of destruction in the city's downtown, particularly in areas that housed government offices.

The photo comparisons below show recognizable locations in the wake of the unrest, such as the former barracks entrance at the corner of Le Duan and Dinh Tien Hoang streets, now home to a Coffee House and offices of the language department of the HCMC University of Social Sciences; and Gia Long Palace, Diem’s residence at the time of the coup, which now serves as the Ho Chi Minh City Museum.