ROUTE 4

ROUTE 4: LOWER MIDDLE OF OUTER RATTANAKOSIN

ROUTE INTRODUCTION

The fourth route includes many different places particularly old marketplace and commercial areas. Some of the old places have been redeveloped to survive in the modern world. The route begins from the old jail which now becomes a public park on Maha Chai road. Then walk through the park, cross Unagan and Boonsiri roads to Wat Suthat, then take Tee Thong, Fueng Nakorn, Sol Phraya Sri and Asdang roads. On Asdang road, walk southward along the inner city moat until meet Pak Klong Talad area. Turn left to Chakkra Phet road then take Ban Mob road, and end the route with Charoen Krung road. The total length of this route is about 3.8 kilometres and it takes about one hour to walk.

1. ROMMANEEN ART PARK (THE FORMER CENTRAL JAIL)

The current park area with three western style buildings was initially a jail which had been built and operated from 1890 until a decade ago.

It had been used as Bangkok Central Jail until recently when the government realized that a jail with high wall was not appropriate to stand in the heart of the city. After relocating the jail to suburban area in Nontaburi, the government started the area redevelopment and buildings preservation project in 1991. The three main buildings are adapted to be a museum and exhibition hall displaying products manufactured by prisoners. And a vast space inside the former jail is now redeveloped to be a public park, namely Rommaneenart Park. The park is built to celebrate the present Queen' sixtieth birthday.

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Suthat temple was built in the First reign ( 1982-1809) on the central area of the city at that time. This temple is another significant and beautiful monastery in Rattanakosin. Apart from the gigantic scale of the Ubosot and Vihara, (the chapel and the main hall), Buddha images and mural paintings in Vihara are very precious. Buildings, art objects and landscape in the temple precinct are very well-preserved.

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3. KLONG LOT WAT RATCHABOPIT

This is a small canal which was dug in the First reign (1782-1809) for defense and transport purposes. Klong Lot means a tube-shaped waterway that links two main canals together. There are two klong lots in Rattanakosin, which are Klong Lot Wat Ratchabopit and Klong Lot Wat Theptida (located near Wat Theptida). Now Klong Lot is no longer used for original purposes because it has been changed into the drainage ditch.

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4. RATCHABOPIT TEMPLE

This temple was built in the Fifth reign (1868-1910). The layout of the temple is very well-designed. An outstanding architecture is the circular-shaped colonnades at the base of the Great Pagoda. This colonnades link between Ubosot (ceremony hall) and Vihara hall.

Interior of Ubosot is well-decorated and the ceiling was created with pointed arches and ribbed vaults similar to Gothic architectural elements. It expresses a good combination of Thai and western interior designs.

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5. OLD SHOPHOUSES AT SOI PHRAYA SRI

These old chophouses are located on Sol (alley) Phraya Sri which links Fueng Nokorn and Asdang roads together. The atmosphere is calm and nice because there is a canal (Klong Lot Wat Ratchabopit) at the rear of the shophouses.

The area of Sol Phraya Sri is called after the conferred title of Phraya Sri who was an august minister in the Third reign (1824-1851) and had his residence in this area. The chophouses were built in the Fifth reign (18681910) and were used as commercial stores run by German and English owners. At present, few German shops are still standing. The outstanding features of the chophouses are understood by the plaster pediments at the corner units and the treatment on the thick wall.

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6. MON BRIDGE

This bridge was originally built with teak in the Third reign ( 1824-1851). The timber structure was replaced by a concrete bridge in the Sixth reign ( 1910-1925). The name "Moe" in Thai means an ethnic group (called Pequan in English) living in a town (called Pequ) in the south of Myanmar. The Mon traders used to settle their boathouses on the area of Mon bridge.

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7. BAN MOH PALACE

The palace is one of the very few palaces remaining in Rattanakosin. It has never been changed into other uses except private housing. The palace is owned by a descendant of Prince Pitak Theves who built his residence in this area in the Third reign ( 1824-1851).

The remaining hall in the palace were built in traditional Thai style. There is also a wooden pavilion which is well-maintained inside the palace. Ban Mob palace is a private property which is not open to public.

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8. OLD SHOPHOUSES ON ASDANG ROAD

These old chophouses are on Asdang road. They were built in the Fifth reign (1868-1910) in European-influenced style with beautiful pediments on facades of ending units.

During the mid 19^th to early 20^th century, this area was one of the famous business places where motor car showrooms and boat engine shops were concentrated. At present, the buildings are in poor condition and are mostly housed by truck-transport and warehouse companies.

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9. PAK KLONG TALAD

This market area is called "Pak Klong Talad" which means mouth of the market canal. It used to be a significant floating market in early Rattanakosin. At present, Pak Klong Talad market still holds its original activity although the floating market disappeared. Pak Klong Talad is the most important flowers and agricultural products wholesale market in the country.

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10. BAN MOH SHRINE

Ban Mob shrine is a Chinese shrine which has existed for more than 100 years. Originally it was a very small spirit house. The concrete buildings was built about 40 years ago in Chinese style without much decorative. Ban Mob shrine is very holy among Chinese people. It is believed that those who pays respect to the god situated in the shrine, his or her wish will become true.

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11. BAN MOH AREA AND OLD SHOPHOUSES

Ban Mob is an old place where traditional cooking pot ("Moh" means pot) used to be manufactured. The chophouses were built later and the area has been famous for jewelry shops until now. But lately, number of jewelry shops become smaller while the number of electrical appliances shops increases.

Nowadays, old chophouses are still found in the area. The interesting thing is that the chophouse unit at the entrance of an old market has a plaster pot placed on the top of pediment to represent the original activity of the area.

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12. CHAROEN KRUNG ROAD

Charoen Krung is one of the earliest roads built during modernization period (about 130 years ago). At its early life, one-storey chophouses with baked clay roof tiles were built on both sides of the road. Later in the fifth reign (1868-1901) two-storey chophouses were built to replace the former structure. At that time Charoen Krung was a popular shopping street. Both sides of the road were plenty of shops and retail stores of imported goods. Although today the commercial activity is no longer flourishing, some units of old chophouses and old stores still remain to reflect the old atmosphere.

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This theatre was built in 1932 to celebrate the 1 50^th Rattanakosin anniversary. The theatre is the first of its kind in east Asia to have air-conditioning system that made it the most modern theatre at that time. The first play was performed on the second of July, 1933 and after that, Sala Chalerm Krung had been used mainly for movie show until it was closed for total renovation recently. The theatre has just come alive again in 1994 with the new interior work and exterior refurbishment. The renovated theatre is now used for live performances like Thai classical play and it is renamed as "Chalerm Krung Royal Theatre"

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14. THE OLD SIAM PLAZA SHOPPING CENTRE

This is the most recent redevelopment project in Rattanakosin which turned the entire old marketplace into the modern structure. The new building is not high because of the recent height regulations for the sake of environment conservation. Inside, there are many shops, souvenirs booths and restaurants. On the top floors were the exclusive area of high-cost residential units.

Before redevelopment, this area was called "Talad (market) Ming Muang". A number of chophouses were built around the market. Ming Muang market was famous for made-to-order clothes.

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15. SRI CHAN BUILDING

This commercial building is believed to be built in the Fifth reign. It had 3 floors at the beginning and the additional floor was built later. The early use of Sri Chan Building was a pharmaceutical store owned by Dr. Leng Srichan. At present, the use has been changed into an audio appliances shop. It is the only building left in Rattanakosin that expresses what the single commercial building on the famous Charoen Krung road looked like about a hundred years ago.

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16. DAMRONG SATHIT BRIDGE

This bridge was built to cross the outer city moat and link the inner and outer parts of Charoen Krung road. Actually, there had been a steel-structured bridge with wooden floor since the Fourth reign (1851-1868) in this area. The original bridge was replaced by another steel bridge in the Fifth reign (1868-1910). At that time, Charoen Krung road as well as the new bridge were widened.

During widening the bridge, a city gate called "Sam Yod" and some parts of the wall and a gate of the palace of Prince Damrong Rachanubharp had to be demolished. The steel bridge was replaced again with the concrete structure in the Seventh reign (1825-1934) and lastly, was widened in the present reign.

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Last updated: 21 June 2000

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