Sathon Road ( th, ถนนสาทร, , ; also ''Sathorn'' or ''Satorn'') is a major road that passes through the districts of
Bang Rak and
Sathon in central
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
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. It is an important transportation link between
Phra Nakhon and
Thonburi sides of Bangkok.
Sathon Road is lined with skyscrapers and corporate offices, especially banking and finance related. Thai and International banks such as
SMBC and
Citicorp
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomer ...
have their headquarters located along Sathon Road. Numerous 40+ story luxury condominiums line the street, including
The Met. It also has, along the South side, the embassies of
Australia (37),
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
(Soi 1),
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(9),
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
(35), and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
(25). The extensive
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Bangkok Bible College and a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
church are in the south-west.
It consists of the eastbound Sathon Nuea Road (or North Sathon Road, belonging to
Si Lom
Si Lom Road (also written as Silom, th, สีลม, ) is a major street in the Thai capital Bangkok, best known for its commercial neighbourhood, which, along with the nearby and roughly parallel Sathon Road, forms one of the city's main bu ...
Subditrict,
Bang Rak District) and the westbound Sathon Tai Road (or South Sathon Road, belonging to
Yan Nawa and Thung Maha Mek Subdistricts,
Sathon District) separated by
Khlong Sathon canal.
* On the south-western end of the roads is the
Taksin Bridge, also commonly called Sathon Bridge, crossing the
Chao Phraya River from
Charoen Krung Road that borders the river. This end also has the
Chao Phraya Express Boat
The Chao Phraya Express Boat ( th, เรือด่วนเจ้าพระยา ''Ruea Duan Chao Phraya'') is a transportation service in Thailand operating on the Chao Phraya River. It provides riverine express transportation between stop ...
CEN Sathon station, the terminus from which southern and northern line river-stations are numbered. Near this end the
Si Rat Expressway
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. E ...
(2nd State Expy) crosses at this end.
* The north-eastern end terminates at
Rama IV Road, but continues as
Witthayu Road
Witthayu Road from above
Witthayu Road ( th, ถนนวิทยุ, , ), commonly known in English as Wireless Road, is a road in Bangkok, located almost entirely in Lumphini Subdistrict of Pathum Wan District.
Witthayu Road originally link ...
(Wireless Road) where many embassies and ambassadors residences are located, their corner having
Lumphini Market on the north-east side.
The
Silom Line of the
BTS Skytrain also runs along most part of this road with stations
Surasak and
Saphan Taksin. The skytrain extension to the other side of
Chao Phraya River opened to public in May 2009. The
MRT Blue Line,
Lumphini Station is at the other end near
Rama IV Road. The
Bangkok BRT
The Bangkok BRT is a bus rapid transit system in Bangkok, Thailand. Of five routes that were originally planned, only one line has been operating since 2010, with the other routes cancelled. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) announced the ...
Sathorn station is located on
Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road, linked to
Chong Nonsi BTS station by a new bridge.
The intersection between Sathon and Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Roads is a new commercial area filled with office buildings such as the
Empire Tower.
The road has six roads in form of ''
soi
''Soi'' ( th, ซอย ) is the term used in Thailand for a side-street branching off a major street (''thanon'', th, ถนน). An alley is called a ''trok'' ( th, ตรอก).
Overview
Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by th ...
'' (alley) that can connect to Si Lom road in the north, consisted of (from the Taksin Bridge) Surasak, Pramuan,
Pan, Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra, Convent, and
Sala Daeng, respectively.
Khlong Sathon
Khlong Sathon and Sathon Road in 1946
Khlong Sathon ( th, คลองสาทร, ) is a ''
khlong'' (คลอง, canal) in downtown
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 ...
. Nowadays, it is just a small
waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
amidst the tall buildings in
Sathon quarter, the country's business and financial centre.
History
During the King
Chulalongkorn (Rama V)'s reign, Luang Sathon Racha Yut (หลวงสาทรราชายุตก์), also known as Chao Sua Yom (เจ้าสัวยม), a wealthy businessman, was commissioned in 1892 to dig the canal linking Khlong Thanon Trong (now
Rama IV Road) with the
Chao Phraya River at a side of
Wat Yannawa. The canal was 3.2
km (about 1 mi) long. Luang Sathon Racha Yut dug the canal passing the untidy area between
Si Lom
Si Lom Road (also written as Silom, th, สีลม, ) is a major street in the Thai capital Bangkok, best known for its commercial neighbourhood, which, along with the nearby and roughly parallel Sathon Road, forms one of the city's main bu ...
and Ban Wai Roads, he took the soil from the canal to fill for the road construction. Subsequently, he received the rights for the adjacent land along both sides of the canal. He then developed and divided the land into plots, 240
m2 each, sold to noblemen, foreigners, and the wealthy. This was regarded as the first land development project in Thailand.
The name Khlong Sathon was derived from Luang Sathon Racha Yut, the honour title which Chao Sua Yom received from King Chulalongkorn for his good deed developing the city. In the past, the land along both sides on the canal were occupied by beautiful mansions, decorated with many kinds of big trees, such as
sea almond
''Terminalia catappa'' is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almon ...
,
rain tree Rain tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
*''Albizia saman'', a tree in the family Fabaceae, native to a range extending from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil
*''Brunfelsia'' a genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Sola ...
,
mango; for mangoes when they bear fruit can be eaten. At that time, the area of Khlong Sathon continues to the right and left lanes of Witthayu Road and connects to
Khlong Saen Saep
Khlong Saen Saep (, ) is a canal ''( khlong)'' in central Thailand, connecting the Chao Phraya River to Prachinburi Province and Chachoengsao. A portion of the canal is used for public transport by an express boat service in Bangkok. The 72&nbs ...
as well. Khlong Sathon was large than present and the water was clear and clean. Children often like to swim, and double-rope-bridge was built for climbing over it. It was also popular for
Loy Krathong in the Loy Krathong Day.
After
Taksin Bridge construction in 1982, the big trees were removed and Sathon Road were enlarged, narrowing the canal.
Geography
Khlong Sathon starts from the eastern Chao Phraya River under Taksin Bridge near the
Chaloem Phan 53 Bridge
Chaloem Phan 53 Bridge ( th, สะพานเฉลิมพันธุ์ 53) is a bridge in Bangkok's Yan Nawa sub-district, Sathon district and Si Lom sub-district, Bang Rak District.
History & characteristics
It's the bridge across mouth ...
, on the border between Sathon and
Bang Rak districts and continues along the length of Sathon Road. It bisects Sathon Road; North Sathon (ฺBang Rak district) and South Sathon (Sathon district), before terminating along with Sathon Road at Witthayu Intersection, a
four-way intersection where Sathon combines Rama IV and
Witthayu Roads, as well as the beginning of Witthayu Road on the border of three contiguous
districts, Bang Rak, Sathon and
Pathum Wan at the southeast corner of
Lumphini Park.
References
Streets in Bangkok
Sathon district
Bang Rak district
{{Bangkok-stub