Siam Center, Bangkok

Siam Center (29 August 2006)


Siam Center (GPS: 13.74628, 100.5328) is a shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Pathum Wan district, between Siam Discovery Center and Siam Paragon. The elevated pedestrian mall of the BTS Skytrain Siam Station is situated right in front of it.

Siam Center is owned by Siam Piwat Co. Ltd., which also owns Siam Discovery Center. A glass skybridge connects these two malls at the fourth level.

Siam Center is one of the first shopping malls in Bangkok. It was first built in 1973, and has undergone renovation many times over, including once, after a fire in 1995. The latest round of renovation gives it a colorful exterior, featuring a "Magical Glass Box" effect.

There is a reason why this shopping centre and the other two next to it are all called "Siam" สยาม . That's the name attributed to the neighbourhood within the district of Pathum Wan. That area belongs to the Thai Royal Family. It covers 43 acres of which 17 acres is occupied by the Sra Pathum Palace while the balance 26 acres are leased out by the Crown Property Bureau, and on this land are all the shopping malls.

The history of the Siam neighbourhood goes back to the time of King Mongkut (Rama IV), who built Pathumwan Palace ("Lotus Palace") there. Later, the kingdom's first airport was built in that area, and was in use under Don Mueang Airport opened in 1914. With the airport having vacated by land at Siam neighbourhood, it went into the possession of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej of Songkhla, the father of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Prince Mahidol Adulyadej then built Sa Pathum Palace ("Lotus Pond Palace") there.

The first major commercial property to occupy the 26 acres of leased out land was Siam Intercontinental Hotel, built in 1964. The hotel has since vacated that spot and now occupies another plot also on Rama I Road. Its former site was redeveloped into Siam Paragon (completed in 2005) and Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok (2010). On the south side of the road from the big shopping malls is Siam Square, also celebrating the name of Siam neighbourhood, which is no longer an official administrative division of Bangkok, but remains the metonym for the very heart of Bangkok.

Getting there

Siam Center is accessed by the BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit Line and Silom Line, which both serve the Siam Station a short distance away.

Siam Center on Google Street View

Siam Center (Sep 2017)

Interior of Siam Center (May 2016)

Siam Center is on the map of Rama I Road, Bangkok

Siam Center is on the Map of Bangkok

References

List of Shopping Malls in Bangkok; list of Districts of Bangkok

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