205px, Unakan road view towards Wat Suthat and Rommaninat Park ">Rommaninat_Park.html" ;"title="Wat Suthat and Rommaninat Park">Wat Suthat and Rommaninat Park Unakan Road () is a road in the Rattanakosin Island or Bangkok's old town zone. A short road that has a beginning at Unakan intersection, where it meets Charoen Krung and Burapha roads, opposite The Old Siam Plaza in

Wang Burapha Wang Burapha (, ) is a historic neighbourhood in Bangkok, regarded as the first commercial and entertainment district in contemporary Thailand (after 1932 revolution). It is surrounded by Charoen Krung, Maha Chai, Phahurat, Tri Phet and Burapha ...

area. Then, it runs straight north in parallel with

Wat Suthat Wat Suthat Thepwararam (, ) is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a royal temple of the first grade, one of ten such temples in Bangkok (23 in Thailand). Construction was begun by King Rama I in 1807. In the beginning, it was initiall ...

and Siriphong road before ends at the corner of the

Giant Swing The Giant Swing, also known as Sao Chingcha, (, ', ) is a 21 feet (21.15 meter) tall swing-shaped religious structure and a prominent landmark in Sao Chingcha Subdistrict of Phra Nakhon District in Bangkok in Thailand. Located in front of ...

, with a total distance is 446 m (1,463 ft). It was built by royal command 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) in memory of Prince

Unakan Ananta Norajaya Unakan Ananta Norajaya (; ; 20 February 1856 – 29 March 1873) His Royal Highness Prince Ananta Norajaya he was a son of King Mongkut (Rama IV) and consort Piam Sucharitakul. He had the same parents as the three queens of King Chulalongkorn: ...

, his son born to consort Piam Sucharitakul (later Princess

Piyamavadi Princess Piyamavadi Sri Bajarindra Mata (; ) or Chao Khun Chom Manda Piam () née Piam Sucharitakul (; ) Her Royal Highness Princess Piyamavadi was one of the royal wives of King Mongkut. All three of her daughters became queens. Her father was ...

), whose had a residence here. The young prince died, at the age of 17 in the year 1873. After he died, his mother donated an amount of 8,000

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 ...

to build public utility for the benefit of traveling to the people. Department of Sanitation (currently known as Department of Public Works) therefore completed the construction of this road in 1900 and received the official name from the

King Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...

(Rama V). In that era, it was considered a shortcut that bridges Charoen Krung and

Bamrung Mueang Bamrung Mueang Road (, ) is the second paved road in Bangkok. It was built in 1863 after Charoen Krung Road, in the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV). It cut through the old fortified city of Rattanakosin Island from west to east, beginning near th ...

roads. In the early 20th century, the area around the road begin used to be a place to trade charcoal by rowing for sale in Khlong Lot Wat Ratchabophit, a branch of the old city moat,

Khlong Khu Mueang Doem Rattanakosin Island (, , ) is a historic area in the Phra Nakhon District in the city of Bangkok, Thailand. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River to the west and various canals to the east that were dug to serve as moats for what was originall ...

, that flows across the road. This area was therefore called ''Saphan Than'' (สะพานถ่าน, "charcoal bridge"). The territory of Saphan Than extends to nearby Ti Thong road, and covers three consecutive ''

soi In Thailand, a ''soi'' ( ) is a side street that branches off of a major street (''thanon'', ). An alley is called a ''trok'' (). Overview Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by the name of the major street and the number, as in "S ...

'' (alley)-like short streets were Soi Na Wang, Long Tha road and Soi Sa Song. The Prince's residence, known as ''Wang Saphan Than'' (วังสะพานถ่าน, "Saphan Than Palace"), was demolished and rebuilt into a two-story market named Bam Pen Bun since the pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era until the 1950s and 1960s that Wang Burapha reached its peak of prosperity. The market was also popular. In addition to being a wet market and selling various kinds of products as part of Wang Burapha commercial district. It was also a well-known place for

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

. As time passed around the 1970s, when the popularity of Wang Burapha declined. Bampen Bun Market was demolished and rebuilt into apartment named Bampenbun Flat and shophouses as seen today.

References

{{Coord, 13, 44, 49.48, N, 100, 30, 03.88, E, region:TH_type:landmark, display=title Streets in Bangkok Phra Nakhon district 1900 establishments in Siam