Sathon Mansion
บ้านสาทร
Sathon Mansion in 2018
Alternative namesThe House on Sathorn
General information
StatusActive
TypeHouse
Architectural styleNeoclassical
Address106 North Sathon Rd., Silom Subdistrict, Bang Rak District
Town or cityBangkok
CountryThailand
Coordinates13°43′20″N 100°31′44″E / 13.72222°N 100.52889°E / 13.72222; 100.52889
Current tenantsW Hotel Bangkok
Completed1888
Renovated2006–14

The Sathon Mansion (Thai: บ้านสาทร) or Luang Chitchamnongwanit Mansion is a complex of historic buildings in Bangkok, Thailand. It was built in 1888 for Luang Sathonrachayut (Yom Pisolyabutra), the wealthy Chinese businessman who developed Sathon Road, and later served as the Hotel Royal, the Soviet embassy (later the Russian embassy) and, since 2015, a restaurant and entertainment venue for the W Bangkok hotel, known as The House on Sathorn.

History

The mansion was built in 1888, during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), for Luang Sathonrachayut (Yom Pisolyabutra), the wealthy Chinese businessman and government official who owned and developed the land around Khlong Sathon, and later served as the residence of Luang Chitchamnongwanit, his son-in-law. In 1910, Luang Chitchamnongwanit went bankrupt, and ownership of the mansion fell to the Privy Purse (later to become the Crown Property Bureau) in 1916.[1][2] King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) bestowed the mansion to Chao Phraya Ram Rakhop, and later, in the 1920s, it became the site of the Hotel Royal, under the management of Madame Staro.[lower-alpha 1] In 1948, the property was leased to the USSR, and it served as the site of the Soviet embassy (later the Russian embassy) until the year 1999.[6]

The mansion underwent extensive renovations in the 2000s, as part of the development of the Sathorn Square office tower and the W Bangkok hotel, which now flank the mansion on each side.[7] It reopened in July 2015 as a restaurant and entertainment venue for the W Bangkok, known as The House on Sathorn.[6] The building complex received the ASA Architectural Conservation Award in the award of merit for the architecture and community heritage conservation category for the 2020–2021 year.[8]

Architecture

The complex comprises four buildings surrounding a central courtyard. The main mansion, the first to be built, is a two-storey structure in the Neoclassical style, with a central front porch and a three-storey tower in one corner. The hipped roof is covered with diamond-shaped cement tiles, and the interior is extensively decorated with carved teak, with tin ceilings on the lower floor. The two three-storey side wings were added during Luang Chitchamnongwanit's time, and the rear building, originally a single-storey service building, was later converted to a two-storey reinforced concrete structure.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Adele Staro was a Neapolitan lady who previously also managed a bar and bungalow in the Charoen Krung–Surawong neighbourhood, known as the Trocadero.[3] According to travel writer Hermann Norden, who visited Bangkok in 1921, she was the only European woman to have received the Order of the White Elephant.[4] She managed the hotel until February 1925, when she sold the business to a syndicate and returned to Italy.[5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old Russian Embassy, Bangkok.
  1. 1 2 "รางวัลอนุรักษ์ศิลปสถาปัตยกรรม ประจำปี ๒๕๖๓ - ๒๕๖๔ : บ้านหลวงสาทรราชายุกต์ กรุงเทพมหานคร". ASA Virtual Exhibition 2021: Refocus Heritage (in Thai). Association of Siamese Architects. 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "Special Trip of the Siam Society". Siamese Heritage Trust website. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  3. ↑ ประทุมพร (31 October 2003). "เรื่องชุด ฉันรักกรุงเทพฯ : ถนนสุรวงศ์ (1)". Kwanruen (in Thai). Retrieved 9 June 2021 – via Sanook.com.
  4. ↑ Norden, Hermann (1923). From Golden Gate to golden sun : a record of travel, sport and observation in Siam and Malaya. London: H.F. and G. Witherby. p. 94.
  5. ↑ "[Madam Adele Staro is saying good-bye...]". The Straits Times. 25 February 1925. p. 8 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. 1 2 "Ready to make history again". The Nation. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Tan, Itthi C (1 November 2004). "Sathorn Square: Historic site boosts value of project". The Nation.
  8. ↑ "รางวัลอนุรักษ์". ASA Virtual Exhibition 2021: Refocus Heritage (in Thai). Association of Siamese Architects. 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
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