Rama IV Road (, ; usually shortened to , ) is a main road in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Thailand. It starts at Mo Mi Junction in the area of

Bangkok's Chinatown Bangkok's Chinatown is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. It was founded in 1782 when the city was established as the capital of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, and served as the home of the mainly Teochew immigrant Chinese population, wh ...

Samphanthawong Samphanthawong (, )) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Regarded as Bangkok's Chinatown, it is the smallest district by area in Thailand. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bang Rak, ...

and Pom Prap Sattru Phai Districts and ends at the junction with

Sukhumvit Road Sukhumvit Road (, , ), or Highway 3 (), is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities. It follows a coastal route from Bangkok to Khlong Yai District, Trat border to Koh Kong, Cambodia. Sukhumvit Road ...

( Phra Khanong Junction) in

Khlong Toei District Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, , ) is a districts of Bangkok, district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong Toei M ...

near

Bangkok Port Bangkok Port () (BKP), popularly known as Khlong Toei Port (), is an international port on the Chao Phraya River in Khlong Toei District of the Thai capital city, Bangkok. It is operated by the Port Authority of Thailand. Until recently, Bangkok P ...

, also known as Khlong Toei Port. Bordering the road are the

Hua Lamphong railway station Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) railway station (, ) is a railway station in Pathum Wan, the former central passenger terminal in Bangkok and the former railway hub of Thailand. It is in the center of the city in the Pathum Wan district, and is operat ...

, Wat Hua Lamphong, New

Sam Yan Sam Yan (, ) is the name of an intersection and its nearby neighbourhood in Bangkok, Thailand. It connects Rama IV Road with Phaya Thai and Si Phraya roads, and is located within Pathum Wan District, next to its border with Bang Rak. The neighb ...

Market,

Lumphini Park Lumphini Park (, , ), also Lumpini or Lumpinee, is a 360 Rai (area), rai () park in Bangkok, Thailand. The park offers rare open public space, trees and playgrounds in the Thai capital and contains an artificial lake where visitors can rent ...

and Rama VI Memorial Plaza,

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH, ; ) is a public general and tertiary referral hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It is operated by the Thai Red Cross Society, and serves as the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn U ...

and

Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute (QSMI) (; ) in Bangkok, Thailand, is an institute that specialises in the husbandry of venomous snakes, the extraction and research of snake venom, and vaccines, especially rabies vaccine. It houses the sna ...

, the

Metropolitan Electricity Authority The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) () is a Thai state enterprise under the Ministry of Interior. It was established on 1 August 1958 by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority Act 1958 (BE 2501). Its governor is Mr Somchai Roadrungwas ...

, and the headquarters of Channel 3. The

MRT Blue Line The MRT Blue Line () or MRT Chaloem Ratchamongkon Line () is Bangkok's third rapid transit line, following the Sukhumvit line and Silom line of the BTS Skytrain. It is the first line of the MRT (Bangkok), MRT system and is operated by Bangkok Exp ...

snakes underneath Rama IV Road between Sanam Chai MRT station and

Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre MRT station Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre MRT station (, , code BL23) or QSNCC station is a Bangkok MRT station on the Blue Line, in Bangkok, Thailand. Located under Ratchadaphisek Road, near Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Benjakitt ...

History

This road was built in the year 1857 during the reign of

King Mongkut Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization initiatives and diplomat ...

(Rama IV) and can be considered as the first real road in Thailand. It was built about four years before

Charoen Krung Road Shophouses along Charoen Krung road with the Sathorn Unique Tower in the vicinity (2021) Charoen Krung Road (, ) is a major road in Bangkok and the first in Thailand to be built using modern construction methods. Built during 1862–1864 in the ...

. The road was built at the request of foreign merchants and businessmen, who complained of the difficulty and waste of time of travelling to trade in the capital. To solve this issue, they proposed to set up their stores for trading goods around Khlong Phra Khanong up to the

Bang Na Bang Na (, ) is one of the fifty districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbors, clockwise from the north, are the Phra Khanong and Prawet Districts of Bangkok and Bang Phli, Mueang Samut Prakan, and Phra Pradaeng Districts of Samut ...

area and requested that the government dig up a shortcut canal from Bang Na to

Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem (, ) is a canal (''khlong'') in Bangkok. It was dug in 1851 in order to serve as a new outer moat for the expanding city, extending its boundaries from the Rattanakosin Island to the north and east. History When the cit ...

, which was one of the outer city moats during that time. King Mongkut ordered that a new canal be dug up in front of Phlan Phairi Rap Fort (around the

Hua Lamphong Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) railway station (, ) is a railway station in Pathum Wan, the former central passenger terminal in Bangkok and the former railway hub of Thailand. It is in the center of the city in the Pathum Wan district, and is operat ...

area), cutting through fields to connect to Khlong Phra Khanong. At the same time, Khlong Phra Khanong was also extended to reach the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

. The soil dug up would be used to pave a road running along the north of the canal. The King named the new canal Khlong Thanon Trong ("straight road canal"), and it is also came to be known as Khlong Hua Lamphong. The road that ran along the bank of the canal was given various names by the community, ranging from Trong Road, Hua Lamphong Road, and Wua Lamphong Road. It was later declared in 1919, during the reign of King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

(Rama VI), to rename Outer Hua Lamphong Road, covering the stretch between the intersections with Charoen Krung and Luang Sunthorn Kosa, to Rama IV Road in memory of King Mongkut who had initially ordered its construction. In 1947, Khlong Hua Lamphong was drained to make way for an extension of the road. The

Paknam Railway The Paknam Railway was Thailand's first railway line, established in 1893. Stretching 21 km (13 mi), it was a narrow gauge line. The line was constructed by the Paknam Railway Company established by a British navigator Alfred John Loftu ...

, Thailand's first railway line, followed the route of Rama IV Road from 1893 until it closed in 1960 due to under-use and increased road traffic. Several flyovers were added in the 1980s and 1990s to improve traffic flow.

Development

the real estate bordering the road, particularly a 3.5 kilometre section stretching from Sam Yan to Klong Toey intersection, has attracted property investments totaling 185 billion

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

and more investment is forecast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rama 04 Road Streets in Bangkok 1857 establishments in Siam