อ่านภาษาไทย
This holiday, "sookjai Weekend" will take everyone to experience the charm of "Wang Worawan" or Wang Phraeng Nara, the former residence of His Royal Highness Prince Narathip Praphanphong. Although most of the area has been expropriated to build roads, there is still a small old wooden palace built during the reign of King Rama V, distinguished by its neoclassical architecture mixed with the East, along with a delicate gingerbread fretwork balcony that is rare to see today.
The interesting thing about this building is that it used to be the location of the "Pridalai Theater", the most famous musical theater in the reign of King Rama VI and VII. In particular, the play "E-Nak Phra Khanong", which Prince Narathip Praphanphong used the pseudonym "Mak Phaya" to compose. The performance of this play was a huge success and had to be performed repeatedly for 24 consecutive nights. There is also "Sao Kreua Fah" which was adapted from a foreign opera to create entertainment for the Siamese people at this place as well.
After the theater era, this area was transformed into "Talaphat Suksa School" by Khun Songkhla Nakhonrin and the Talaphat family, who were granted this place to open a school. The building was modified with a wooden mezzanine and steel spiral staircase for use as an educational institution, before closing down in 1995 and was once the location of a law firm before being abandoned in the present.
Currently, the Wang Worawan building has been registered as an ancient monument of Bangkok and is under the care of the Office of the Royal Privy Purse in order to wait for restoration. Taking a walk in the Phraeng Nara area and admiring the beauty of the historical building that once had the sound of the E-Nak Phra Khanong opera echoing will help make your holiday full of impressive stories. And don't forget to stop by and see the traces of the past in this area with us "sookjai Weekend".
