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Ratchathewi Intersection

Ratchathewi districtRoad junctions in Bangkok
แยกราชเทวี 2019
แยกราชเทวี 2019

Ratchathewi Intersection (Thai: แยกราชเทวี) is a four-way intersection of Phaya Thai and Phetchaburi roads in the area of Thung Phaya Thai, Thanon Phaya Thai and Thanon Phetchaburi sub-districts, Ratchathewi district, downtown Bangkok. It's the location of Ratchathewi station close to important intersections viz Pratunam, Pathum Wan, Phaya Thai, Uruphong and Victory Monument. Its name means Royal Consort in honour of Sukhumala Marasri, who was one of four consorts of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). When she was 50 years old, she donated her own money to build a bridge across a Khlong Pra Chae Chin (คลองประแจจีน; Pra Chae Chin canal). The King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) was presided over the opening ceremony on May 22, 1911 and was given the official name "Phra Ratchathewi Bridge" (สะพานพระราชเทวี) but generally called by short "Ratchathewi Bridge" (สะพานราชเทวี). Later, when the need to expand the traffic surface of Phetchaburi road. Bridge and canal were demolished to create a roundabout (traffic circle). Ratchathewi roundabout has a landmark, a large fountain and the roses are planted around for beauty, especially at night with spotlight. This makes the roundabout more beautiful. In that era, this neighbourhood is considered to be a busy and bustling place. It was surrounded by the houses of the wealthy and many nobles. Later in the 1964, the roundabout was demolished to rebuild the intersection to alleviate traffic jams. The fountain was rebuilt into four fountains at the four corners of the intersection as in modern times. In the 1970s, Ratchathewi intersection became the shopping district of Bangkok. It's the center of many leading cinemas such as Athens, Mackenna, Hollywood, President, Paramount, Metro, Indra etc., including many beauty parlors. In 1975, an overpass was constructed, completed in 1979 with the dozens of crushed rock trucks parked on the bridge to test the strength. It's considered as the first overpass crossing intersection of Bangkok and still use today.In 1989, when Bangkok was re-zoning. Ratchathewi area has been separated from Phaya Thai district. "Ratchathewi" is also used as a new district name.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Ratchathewi Intersection (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Ratchathewi Intersection
Ratchathewi Junction Overpass Bridge, Bangkok Ratchathewi District

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 13.753244444444 ° E 100.53178055556 °
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สะพานข้ามแยกราชเทวี

Ratchathewi Junction Overpass Bridge
10400 Bangkok, Ratchathewi District
Bangkok, Thailand
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แยกราชเทวี 2019
แยกราชเทวี 2019
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Jim Thompson House
Jim Thompson House

The Jim Thompson House is a museum in central Bangkok, Thailand, housing the art collection of American businessman and architect Jim Thompson, the museum designer and former owner. Built in 1959, the museum spans one rectangular rai of land (approximately half an acre or 2023.43 square meters). Following his relocation to Bangkok and the establishment of the Thai Silk Company Limited in 1948, Thompson also became a major collector of Southeast Asian art, which at the time, was not well known internationally. Attracted by the subtlety of their craftsmanship and expression, he built a large collection of historical Buddhist statues and traditional Thai paintings made of wood, cloth, and paper that depicted the life of Buddha and the legend of Vessantara Jataka. He collected secular art not only from Thailand but from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos, frequently travelling to those countries on buying trips. His collection also consisted of white and blue porcelain from China, which made its way into Thailand around the 16th and 17th centuries.In 1958, he began what was to be the pinnacle of his architectural achievement, a new home to live in and to showcase his art collection. The museum was planned to consist of a complex combination of six traditional Thai-style houses, primarily constructed of wood, and various old Thai structures that were collected from all parts of Thailand in the 1950s and 1960s. His home sits on a klong (canal) across from Bangkrua, where his company's weavers were then located. Most of the 19th-century houses were dismantled and moved from Ayutthaya, but the largest, a weaver's house (now the living room), came from Bangkrua. After Thompson's disappearance in Malaysia in 1967, the house came under the control of The James H. W. Thompson Foundation under the royal patronage of H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The house is at 6 Soi Kasemsan 2, Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan, only a block away from Bangkok National Stadium; guided tours are available daily.