Washington Square was an entertainment area in Bangkok, Thailand, located for many years at Sukhumvit Soi 22, near the Phrom Phong skytrain station. It contained bars, restaurants, massage parlors and a katoey theatre. Popular mainly with Bangkok expatriates, Middle East oil field workers and older, male, white Americans including many Vietnam War veterans,[1] Bourbon Street was well known for serving Cajun and Creole food and was written up by the Bangkok Post in 2005.[2]

The area features in Christopher G. Moore's series of crime novels about private eye Vincent Calvino,[3][4] and the Texas Lone Staar bar was often mentioned in the mystery novels of Dean Barrett, who once rented an apartment in the Square.[5]

Washington Square was completely demolished in 2013, pending the construction of a shopping mall and several high rise buildings. The restaurants and a few of the bars have relocated elsewhere on Sukhumvit Road, but most have simply closed.[6] The Mall Group planned to build a shopping mall on the site. A dinosaur theme park was established on the site in 2016.[7] The theme park closed in April 2018[8] and construction of the mall, now known as EmSphere, was completed in December 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Carlisle, Peter (7 October 2012). "Washington Square Demolition Leaves Bangkok's Elderly Sexpats Lost, Confused". Thailand Construction and Engineering News. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Louisiana's twin cuisines". The Bangkok Post. 20 May 2005.
  3. ↑ Moore, Christopher G. (2010). Paying Back Jack. Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-0-85789-249-2.
  4. ↑ Moore, Christopher G. (2008). "6. Washington Square". Spirit House. Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. ISBN 978-1-55584-868-2.
  5. ↑ Barrett, Dean (26 April 2013). "Farewell to Washington Square". Stickman Bangkok. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Cole, Carleton (8 December 2013). "Bygone era of bars gone by". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Is EmSphere Being Put On Hold For A Dinosaur Park?". WOS. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Fire at closed Dinosaur Planet theme park". Bangkok Post. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2020.

13°43′55″N 100°33′58″E / 13.73194°N 100.56611°E / 13.73194; 100.56611

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.