Sky-high surprise: 73 year old aerial snapshot of Bang Khen field sparks social media frenzy

An aerial photograph of Bang Khen field, taken 73 years ago, has caused a stir after it was shared on social media.

The image, taken in 1950, depicts a wide-open landscape, dominated by the towering spire of Wat Phra Si Maha That Woramahawihan in Bangkok.

Tiny buildings can be identified as the former district office of Bang Khen, established in 1941, which has now evolved into the present-day Bang Khen District Office. Phahonyothin Road, running adjacent to the temple, was merely a narrow path flanked by rain trees.

The photograph is a work of Dr Robert Larimore Pendleton. Wat Phra Si Mahathat is located in the Bang Khen field area, a battleground during the conflict between the self-proclaimed Committee to Save the Nation led by Phra Worawongse Thoe Phra Ong Chao Bovorn Dech and government soldiers of the People’s Party in October 1943, an event later known as the Bovorn Dech Rebellion.

Before 1943, based on old documents and maps, the majority of the Bang Khen area consisted of rice fields, with only a railway line cutting through and small insignificant communities scattered around. However, post the Bovorn Dech Rebellion, Bang Khen experienced rapid development.

The People’s Party government showed interest and allocated budgets for its development into a prosperous city, which included the construction of Wat Phra Si Mahathat. The temple was officially opened on June 24, 1952, marking the tenth anniversary of the transition from absolute monarchy to democracy.

The People’s Party government also shifted the centre of the Bang Khen community from near the railway station to the east, towards the present four-way intersection, the location of the Rebellion Suppression Monument (now demolished) and the Bang Khen District Office.

The government constructed the “Democratic Road” which was later renamed Phahonyothin Road in memory of Phraya Phahol Pholpayuhasena, the leader of the People’s Party, reported Sanook.

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