491-501 Merchant St

Yangon

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Around 250 workers were trained in new skills for the sensitive restoration in 2016 of this two-storey colonial-era building, home to 80 residents from 12 families spanning the city's multi-ethnic and religious population. Overseen by nonprofit NGO Turquoise Mountain, it is a model for how other similar building restorations could be managed in Yangon.

The video Under One Roof about the project can be viewed at www.vimeo.com/171511836. The building now houses a variety of businesses including a guesthouse and a couple of bars.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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    2.06 MILES

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  • Secretariat

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    0.3 MILES

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  • Stupa at Botataung Paya.

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    0.6 MILES

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Nearby Yangon attractions

2. Sofaer's Building

0.12 MILES

In desperate need of love and attention, this crumbling Italianate building, constructed by the Jewish-Baghdadi trader Isaac A Sofaer, still has original…

3. Inland Waterways Department

0.14 MILES

This building was once the headquarters of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and has weathered the passage of time well. Cross the road to admire its upper…

4. Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank

0.16 MILES

This 1930s building designed by Thomas Oliphant Forster and Basil Ward is one of Pansodan St's grandest buildings. It originally housed the National Bank…

5. Yangon Heritage Trust

0.17 MILES

The small gallery of historic photographs here gives an idea of how downtown Yangon used to look. There's a great view of lower Pansodan St's grand…

6. Myanmar Deitta

0.19 MILES

From the Pali word for 'in front of one's eyes', Deitta is a nonprofit working with local and international documentary photographers, filmmakers and…

7. Myanma Port Authority

0.2 MILES

This grand building is a landmark on the Strand with its striking square corner tower and bas-relief sculptures of ships on the facade. For a brief time…

8. Yangon Divisional Court

0.21 MILES

This ailing, pastel-coloured building is one of the oldest masonry structures in Yangon, dating from around 1900. Its original use was as the Currency…

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