Washington Square was an entertainment area in
Bangkok,
Thailand, located for many years at
Sukhumvit Soi 22, near the
Phrom Phong skytrain station. It contained bars, restaurants,
massage parlors
A massage parlor (American English) or massage parlour (Canadian/British English) is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel.
Context
In 189 ...
and a
katoey theatre. Popular mainly with Bangkok expatriates, Middle East oil field workers and older, male, white Americans including many Vietnam War veterans, ''Bourbon Street'' was well known for serving
Cajun and
Creole food and was written up by the ''Bangkok Post'' in 2005.
The area features in
Christopher G. Moore
Christopher G. Moore (born 8 July 1952) is a Canadian writer of twenty-seven novels, six works of non-fiction, editor of three anthologies, and author of four radio dramas. He is best known for his trilogy ''A Killing Smile'' (1991), ''A Bewitch ...
's series of crime novels about private eye
Vincent Calvino
Vincent Calvino is a fictional Bangkok-based private eye created by Christopher G. Moore in the Vincent Calvino Private Eye series. Vincent Calvino first appeared in 1992 in ''Spirit House'', the first novel in the series. His latest appearance is ...
, and the Texas Lone Staar bar was often mentioned in the mystery novels of
Dean Barrett
Dean Barrett (born 1942, New London, Connecticut) is an American novelist, mystery writer and playwright. Most of his writing takes place in Asia, especially China and Thailand.
Background
After graduating from university, Barrett joined the A ...
, who once rented an apartment in the Square.
Washington Square was completely demolished in 2013, pending the construction of a shopping mall and several high rise buildings. The restaurants and a few of the bars have relocated elsewhere on Sukhumit Road, but most have simply closed. The Emporium group's plan to build a shopping mall called EmSphere was put on hold. A dinosaur
theme park was established on the site in 2016. The theme park closed in April 2018.
References
{{coord, 13, 43, 55, N, 100, 33, 58, E, type:landmark, display=title
Neighbourhoods of Bangkok
Red-light districts in Thailand