Hoa Lo Prison

Hoa Lo Prison, former prison in Hanoi, Vietnam, that was originally constructed by Vietnam’s French colonial rulers and largely used to house political prisoners. It was later used for American prisoners of war (mainly airmen) during the Vietnam War.

The Hoa Lo Prison was built around the turn of the 20th century on a street that had been known for the manufacture of portable earthen stoves, known as hoa lo, and was called the Maison Centrale. The prison was housed in buildings made of thick yellow stone. An imposing black door marking the entrance received the nickname “monster’s mouth” from Vietnamese prisoners. Those held there were mostly fighters for Vietnamese independence from France, and what went on behind the walls was the torture and abuse of prisoners. In 1913 its capacity was increased to allow for 600 inmates, but, by 1953, the number of prisoners had grown to more than 2,000. Most of them were Viet Minh resistance members, and the guillotine in the grounds was regularly in use. Do Muoi, general secretary of the Communist Party in the 1990s, was a former inmate who escaped along with 100 others through the sewer system in 1945.

After the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1954, the Hoa Lo Prison was initially used as an education center for revolutionary doctrine, but with increasing American involvement in the Vietnam War, it began housing American prisoners of war in 1964, and the facility was used until 1973. Inmates were kept shackled to their beds and were tortured and abused in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Inmates nicknamed it the “Hanoi Hilton.” Perhaps the most famous prisoner was U.S. Senator John McCain.

In 1993 most of the prison was demolished for the building of highrises, including the Somerset Grand Hanoi complex. The remaining remnant of the prison was converted to a museum largely focusing on how the Vietnamese suffered at the hands of the French.