{{Short description|Historic building in Bangkok}} {{Infobox building | name = Sathon Mansion | native_name = บ้านสาทร | native_name_lang = Thai | image = Baan Sathon.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = Sathon Mansion in 2018 | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = The House on Sathorn | etymology = | status = Active | building_type = House | architectural_style = [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] | classification = | location = | address = 106 North Sathon Rd., Silom Subdistrict, [[Bang Rak District]] | location_city = [[Bangkok]] | location_country = [[Thailand]] | coordinates = {{coord|13|43|20|N|100|31|44|E|display=inline}} | altitude = | current_tenants = W Hotel Bangkok | namesake = | completion_date = 1888 | opened_date = | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = 2006–14 | closing_date = | client = | owner = | landlord = | architect = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | url = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | references = | footnotes = }}
The '''Sathon Mansion''' ({{langx|th|บ้านสาทร}}) or '''Luang Chitchamnongwanit Mansion''' is a complex of historic buildings in [[Bangkok]], Thailand. It was built in 1888 for [[Luang Sathonrachayut]] (Yom Pisolyabutra), the wealthy Chinese businessman who developed [[Sathon Road]], and later served as the '''Hotel Royal''', the '''Soviet embassy''' (later the Russian embassy) and, since 2015, a restaurant and entertainment venue for the [[W Bangkok]] hotel, known as '''The House on Sathorn'''.
==History== The mansion was built in 1888, during the reign of [[King Chulalongkorn]] (Rama V), for [[Luang Sathonrachayut]] (Yom Pisolyabutra), the wealthy Chinese businessman and government official who owned and developed the land around [[Khlong Sathon]], and later served as the residence of Luang Chitchamnongwanit, his son-in-law. In 1910, Luang Chitchamnongwanit went bankrupt, and ownership of the mansion fell to the Privy Purse (later to become the [[Crown Property Bureau]]) in 1916.<ref name="ASA" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.siamese-heritage.org/cpb_trip.html|title=Special Trip of the Siam Society|work=Siamese Heritage Trust website|accessdate=24 October 2015}}</ref> King [[Vajiravudh]] (Rama VI) bestowed the mansion to [[Chao Phraya Ram Rakhop]], and later, in the 1920s, it became the site of the Hotel Royal, under the management of Madame Staro.{{efn|1=Adele Staro was a Neapolitan lady who previously also managed a bar and bungalow in the [[Charoen Krung Road|Charoen Krung]]–[[Surawong Road|Surawong]] neighbourhood, known as the Trocadero.<ref name="Sanook">{{cite magazine|author1=ประทุมพร |title=เรื่องชุด ฉันรักกรุงเทพฯ : ถนนสุรวงศ์ (1) |url=https://www.sanook.com/travel/533691/ |magazine=Kwanruen |via=Sanook.com |access-date=9 June 2021 |language=th |date=31 October 2003}}</ref> According to travel writer Hermann Norden, who visited Bangkok in 1921, she was the only European woman to have received the [[Order of the White Elephant]].<ref>{{cite book|title=From Golden Gate to golden sun : a record of travel, sport and observation in Siam and Malaya |last=Norden |first=Hermann |place=London |publisher=H.F. and G. Witherby |date=1923 |page= 94|url=https://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/seapage:015_108}}</ref> She managed the hotel until February 1925, when she sold the business to a syndicate and returned to Italy.<ref>{{cite news |title=[Madam Adele Staro is saying good-bye...] |work=The Straits Times |date=25 February 1925 |page=8 |via=NewspaperSG |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19250225-1.2.28}}</ref>}} In 1948, the property was leased to the USSR, and it served as the site of the Soviet embassy (later the Russian embassy) until the year 1999.<ref name="Make History" />
The mansion underwent extensive renovations in the 2000s, as part of the development of the [[Sathorn Square]] office tower and the [[W Bangkok]] hotel, which now flank the mansion on each side.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sathorn Square: Historic site boosts value of project|first=Itthi C |last=Tan|newspaper=The Nation|date=1 November 2004}}</ref> It reopened in July 2015 as a restaurant and entertainment venue for the W Bangkok, known as The House on Sathorn.<ref name="Make History">{{cite news|title=Ready to make history again|url=https://www.nationthailand.com/life/30264583|newspaper=The Nation|date=17 July 2015|accessdate=19 June 2022}}</ref> The building complex received the [[ASA Architectural Conservation Award]] in the award of merit for the architecture and community heritage conservation category for the 2020–2021 year.<ref>{{cite web |title=รางวัลอนุรักษ์ |website=ASA Virtual Exhibition 2021: Refocus Heritage |publisher=Association of Siamese Architects |language=th |date=2021 |url=https://virtualexpo.asa.or.th/content/page6 |access-date=19 June 2022 |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818085144/https://virtualexpo.asa.or.th/content/page6 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Architecture== The complex comprises four buildings surrounding a central courtyard. The main mansion, the first to be built, is a two-storey structure in the [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] style, with a central front porch and a three-storey tower in one corner. The [[hipped roof]] is covered with diamond-shaped cement tiles, and the interior is extensively decorated with carved teak, with [[tin ceiling]]s on the lower floor. The two three-storey side wings were added during Luang Chitchamnongwanit's time, and the rear building, originally a single-storey service building, was later converted to a two-storey reinforced concrete structure.<ref name="ASA">{{cite web |title=รางวัลอนุรักษ์ศิลปสถาปัตยกรรม ประจำปี ๒๕๖๓ - ๒๕๖๔ : บ้านหลวงสาทรราชายุกต์ กรุงเทพมหานคร |website=ASA Virtual Exhibition 2021: Refocus Heritage |publisher=Association of Siamese Architects |language=th |date=2021 |url=https://virtualexpo.asa.or.th/content/page6_award/4 |access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{commons category|Old Russian Embassy, Bangkok}} {{reflist}}
{{Bang Rak District}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bangkok]] [[Category:Registered ancient monuments in Bangkok]] [[Category:Russian ambassadorial residences]] [[Category:Soviet Union–Thailand relations]] [[Category:Bang Rak district]]