Rama IV Road ( th, ถนนพระรามที่ 4, ; usually shortened to , ) is a main road in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populati ...

, Thailand. It starts at

Mo Mi Mo Mi ( th, หมอมี, ) is a large intersection located in the centre of Bangkok's Chinatown quarter overlaps between Pom Prap of Pom Prap Sattru Phai district and Talat Noi with Samphanthawong of Samphanthawong district. This intersecti ...

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, who ...

in Samphanthawong and

Pom Prap Sattru Phai Pom Prap Sattru Phai ( th, ป้อมปราบศัตรูพ่าย, , or popularly just called Pom Prap, ) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Dusit, Pathum Wan, ...

Districts and ends at the junction with

Sukhumvit Road Sukhumvit Road ( th, ถนนสุขุมวิท, , ), or Highway 3 ( th, ทางหลวงแผ่นดินหมายเลข 3), is a major road in Thailand, and a major surface road of Bangkok and other cities. It follows ...

( Phra Khanong Junction) in

Khlong Toei District Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, th, คลองเตย, ) is a 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 ...

near Bangkok Port, also known as Khlong Toei Port. Bordering the road are the Hua Lamphong railway station, Wat Hua Lamphong, New

Sam Yan Sam Yan ( th, สามย่าน, ) 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 ...

Market,

Lumphini Park Lumphini Park ( th, สวนลุมพินี, , ), also Lumpini or Lumpinee, is a 360 rai () park in Bangkok, Thailand. The park offers rare open public space, trees, and playgrounds in the Thai capital and contains an artificial lake w ...

and Rama VI Memorial Plaza,

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH, th, โรงพยาบาลจุฬาลงกรณ์; ) is a public general and tertiary referral hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It is operated by the Thai Red Cross Society, and serves as the ...

and

Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute (QSMI) ( th, สถานเสาวภา; ) in Bangkok, Thailand, is an institute that specialises in the husbandry of venomous snakes, the extraction and research of snake venom, and vaccines, especiall ...

, the

Metropolitan Electricity Authority The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) ( th, การไฟฟ้านครหลวง) is a Thai state enterprise under the Ministry of Interior. It was established on 1 August 1958 by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority Act 1958 ( ...

, and the headquarters of Channel 3. The MRT Blue Line snakes underneath Rama IV Road between

Hua Lamphong MRT Station Hua Lamphong station ( th, สถานีหัวลำโพง, , ) is a rapid transit station on the Blue Line of the Bangkok MRT. It is located underground on Rama IV Road in front of Bangkok railway station, more commonly known locally a ...

and Queen Sirikit National Convention Center MRT Station.

History

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

King Mongkut Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...

(Rama IV) and can be considered as the first real road in Thailand. It was built about four years before Charoen Krung Road. 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 ( th, บางนา, ) 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 Di ...

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

Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem ( th, คลองผดุงกรุงเกษม, ) 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 Rattanakosi ...

, 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 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 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 (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 Loftus a ...

, 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 (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-m ...

and more investment is forecast.

References

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