The Chalerm Thong Kham Theater - Ban Pong District, Ratchaburi Province, Thailand

Digging up the history of old movie theaters in Thailand can lead to some very high places. Movie theaters, after all, are prestige structures, which require deep pockets to construct. Accordingly, it's not uncommon for even the most neglected old theater to have regal origins. Local nobility or their direct descendants (as in the case of Chiang Mai's Suriwong, Suriyong, Suriya and Sang Tawan Theaters, built by a member of the House of Chiang Mai; or the well known Sala Chalerm Krung Theater in Bangkok, built by King Rama VII) have been often active in the realm of cinema entertainment. 

Aside from nobility in the formal sense, heavy hitters from the fields of industry, business and the professions were also known to expand their portfolios into entertainment through the addition of a movie theater. Examples of this can found throughout the country. Usually, however, time tends to render these connections moot, as the former theater owners search for new sources of income. But some things don't change that much at all. Especially in the case of smaller towns. 

The Chalerm Thong Kham Theater, in Ban Pong, Ratchauri, is testament to that old linkage between the movie theater and power in Thailand.

The Chalerm Thong Kham Theater, nestled behind some older shop houses.

Ban Pong is a junction town. Both the railroad and highway fork at Ban Pong, connecting the south with Bangkok to the east and Kanchanaburi to the west. Yet another rail spur heads north towards Suphanburi.

Towards the end of World War II, Ban Pong was slated for an aerial bombardment by the Allies as a means of destroying the westbound rail link going towards the Burmese border. That link, which inspired the movie Bridge On the River Kwai, would have enabled the Japanese in Burma to have a supply route from the east. Overcast skies on the bombing day, however, shielded the Ban Pong from the bomber's view. The town, with its bustling market area flanking the Mae Klong River and the railroad tracks, was spared. 

But what war could not do away with, fire did. In 1955, the market area went up in flames, wiping out the densest part of town. 

A few years after the fire much of Ban Pong's market area had been rebuilt, construction being led by a number of wealthy merchants with vested interest in the area. One of the those merchants was Prayun Khotsapongsa, a second generation Chinese settler whose family owned much of the market. Included in Prayun's redevelopment plan was an enormous, state-of-the-art movie theater to anchor the surrounding business community. He named the theater after his mother, Grandma Thongkham Wongsarot. In 1958 the Chalerm Thongkham Theater opened for business.  

The growth of film in Thailand in the post-war years led to healthy competition between theater operators. Prayun Khotsapongsa and his family rode the wave of movie industry growth by expanding into film distribution. Chalerm Thongkham Films, as it was called, distributed films to theaters in 8 nearby provinces, including Kanchanaburi, Petchaburi, Suphanburi, Prajuab Khirikan, Samut Sakhol, Samut Songkram and Ratchaburi. Ban Pong's position as a junction town helped make this possible.

The unique facade of the Chalerm Thongkham Theater

When the Chalerm Thongkham first opened in 1958, movie theater technology in Thailand was still fairly rudimentary. Ceiling fans were used to cool the theater, and patrons sat on wooden bench seats, not the detached bucket seats common in movie theaters today. But by 1967 air-conditioning and bucket seats were installed; 800 hundred of them on the lower level, plus another 300 on the balcony.

Competition stiffened further when a new theater, the Ban Pong Rama, opened on the opposite side of town. To stay competitive, the Khotsapongsa family enlarged the screen to accommodate 70mm projection capabilities. The large format film allowed for a bigger, crisper picture, equivalent to the Imax theaters of today.

Once an theater, now a motorcycle dealership.

But by the close of the 20th century, the Chalerm Thongkham was suffering the typical syndromes afflicting independent movie theaters in Thailand. Following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, the theater and distribution company went out of business.

Gracefully curving staircase leading to balcony seating.

Balcony view

Seats remain in place on the balcony.

Today, the Chalerm Thongkham Theater houses a motorcycle dealership, a far cry from its glory days as the heart of entertainment in Ban Pong. The building, however, is still a source of pride for the Khotsapongsa family, who take pains to ensure that it looks sharp from the exterior. 

As for the the Khotsapongsa family, they continue to wield influence in Ban Pong. The current mayor, in fact, is a Khotsapongsa. 

Mr. Suthin Khotsapongsa is serving his second term as the Mayor of Ban Pong. Although not a Khotsapongsa by blood, Mr. Suthin married the daughter of Prayun Khotsapongsa, who he met when he worked at the Chalerm Thongkham Theater as a poster painter as a teenager. In reversal of custom, Mr. Suthin took on his bride's family name.

Suthin claims to be "the only mayor of a Thai city that started out as a poster painter at a movie theater."

Poster painter-turned-mayor, Nai Suthin Khotsapongsa.

1950's era signage.

The above video was shot for Thai PBS in November of last year. It features interviews with a former employee of the Chalerm Thongkham Theater (as well as the author of this blog). 

Movie theater ephemera from central Thailand

Movie-goers of yesteryear often sat on wooden bench seats like this:

New York reduced to rubble

On a recent trip to Bangkok, I noticed that the city's stand-alone theater inventory had shrunk by one. That one was the once-famous New York Theater on Phaholyothin Road near Saphan Kwai.

The New York was once part of the Asia Rama Circuit, a chain of 2nd-run theaters spread throughout Bangkok and its suburbs. Due to its large size and good amenities, however, the New York was often rented by some of the first-run chains to screen premiers.

In its later years, the New York switched to screening porn, a common fate for many of Bangkok's stand-alones after their mainstream clientele stopped coming. The theater limped on in this fashion for a number of years until a brutal murder cemented its name in the history books. A young woman was killed by her male date while watching a movie there.

The theater and surrounding shop houses had been derelict for years.

Here's my original review of the place from nearly five years ago.

The Mongkol Rama - Tha Rua, Tha Maka District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand

A brief sojourn into Kanchanaburi Province proved fruitful, if only in a jilted kind of way. The two found fruits were predictably lifeless. One more so than the other. The more abandoned of the two theaters was the Mongkol Rama. Nevertheless, the beauty within was undeniable, even coated in think layers of dust and grime. 

The Mongkol Rama - abandoned and partially concealed by a tree.

The Mongkol Rama of Tha Rua town was designed in the same vein as countless Thai theaters built during the 1960's and 70's. To access the theater, one would have to enter an alley between a break in the buildings, usually denoted by a street-side marquee and some eye-catching signage. The soi would open onto a retail plaza consisting of 2 and 3 story shop houses. In the center of the plaza stood the movie theater, which served as the anchor business for the entire development.

As Thailand's stand-alone theaters went the way of the Woolly Mammoth, the surrounding businesses - dependent for survival on the foot traffic of movie-goers - fell on hard times, too. Today these developments tend to verge on dystopian nightmares. If they're not fully derelict, then only a fraction of their store fronts are open for business. The dearth of investment has led to a blighted appearance, while their concealment makes them perfect haunts for the idle.

As decrepit as they may look, though, these spaces are solid. Built of brick and reinforced concrete, they will last for years to come if only properly maintained. 

A fallen poster hangs from the poster board.

The reverse side says "mid-night." Mid-night screenings often featured x-rated films.

Ticket booth

The last price charged for ticket at the Mongkol Rama was 20 baht.

Up to the third level.

The face of the Mongkol Rama is made of perforated concrete blocks to allow air in.

A built in bench

A 440 seat auditorium falling to pieces.

Like many mid-century Thai movie theaters, the design of the Mongkol Rama is basic. The facade is made of perforated cinder bricks, which allow air to circulate freely in the lobby areas. Sadly, the defining exterior feature of the this building - the signage - has been removed, leaving only empty metal cut outs in its place.

Locals dated the Mongkol Rama to 1970. It was built by a man named Bu Seng. 

It closed in 1993.   

Another SEAMTP feature on Thai PBS

This feature appeared on Thai PBS on Friday, December 20th at 7:45 PM.

The Khosit Theater - Ban Pong, Ratchaburi, Thailand

As a professional art form, architecture is taken quite seriously in Thailand. Although the most highly touted architectural works in the country tend to relate to the national narrative - generally either royalty or religion - there is a wide range of world-class work outside of that limited scope. 

Modern architecture, in particular, is especially well represented throughout Thailand. Most Thai towns are, in fact, comprised largely of various offshoots of that broadly defined school known as the"International Style." Though much of it is pure stock in both gauge and dimension, there are truly outstanding pieces all around, some of them tucked away in the most obscure of places.

Ban Pong's Khosit Theater falls into that category: Outstanding obscura. Forgotten, but unique modern Thai architecture.

What is it about the Khosit that makes it so architecturally special? For one, you seldom see buildings with this kind of top-heavy massing . The brutally heavy upper bulk seems to float weightlessly over the empty lower lobby. From this perspective, the Khosit appears as if the foundation was raised up and left suspended in the air. 

But the contrast between the bulky top and empty bottom is tied together by the wrap-around marquee and strip of windows set between the two. The marquee, it should be noted, protrudes out around the edges, while the windows are set back. One is reminded of a cold-cut slice sticking out from the enclosing bread.

Add some asymmetry to the package, along with a softly curved corner (to lessen the severity of and the bulk) and the Khosit stands out as a highly sophisticated structure. The roof-top signage, moreover, with the lettering done on large squares of metal, matches the bulkiness below. 

The Khosit Theater has a language all of its own.

 

The Khosit Theater from a slight distance.

Thai modernism often does not get its due credit. Case in point, the Khosit.

The Khosit was the last of three theaters to be erected in Ban Pong, one of Ratchaburi's most industrial districts. It's age and any additional background data were unavailable, though conjecture dates it to about 1980, give or take a few years.

Rails for skate kids at the Khosit.

Though utterly abandoned, the Khosit holds the unique distinction among Thai movie theaters of being the only former cinema in the country that has been co-opted by the local skateboarding community. Every evening, the lower lobby serves as a refuge for local skate kids. Ollies and tailslides abound in a space once reserved for passive waiting and socializing. 

A pair of rails and a ramp, used for stake tricks, attest to this new found use.

Skate culture often goes hand in hand with graffiti culture, which too has taken root in the abandoned Khosit.

  

Graf

Main staircase leading to upper lobby.

Lobby tagging

Signs of cinema still abound among some newer graffiti. 

Stairs leading to the auditorium, all tagged up.

The upper lobby at the Khosit Theater is gated off. The large entrance leads to the auditorium.

Softer light

Upper bulk of the Khosit Theater. Brutally beautiful.

Signage

Modern Thai architecture wears a unique visage in the Khosit Theater. 

The Khampaeng Saen Rama - Khampaeng Saen District, Nakorn Pathom Province, Thailand

"Fifteen theaters were built throughout Thailand in this exact same style," he said, pointing in the direction of the abandoned behemoth at the far end of the field. Juxtaposed against the surrounding structures - dingy, mostly one-story shop houses - the citrus-hued theater glowed like the final minutes of a tropical sunset.    

He continued:

"The architect started with one theater. That one was a success, so he got more commissions, reusing the original blueprints again and again for a total of fifteen times. But the only other one I know of for sure is in Ubon. Or maybe it's Yasothon. I can't seem to recall."

Mr. Samaan, former manager of the Khampaeng Saen Rama and current neighbor to it, cycled through a list of facts and figures about his former place of employment. In the 80's and 90's he rented it from its owner, overseeing the day to day operations from the procurement of movies, to promotion and exhibition. Being the only venue in town since the rival Trisuk Theater went out of business, Mr. Samaan had under his supervision the lone ticket to another world - a fact he was eminently aware of.

A blast of color, the Khampaeng Saen Rama

Being the second theater to be commissioned in the town of Khampaeng Saen, the Khampaeng Saen Rama was the more luxurious of the two. This dichotomy of comfort had an almost immediate effect upon the older Trisuk Theater, tucked away in the town's central market.

When the Khampaeng Saen Rama opened in 1982, it is likely that the town's movie-going market become over-saturated, leading to a decline in ticket sales at the older Trisuk Theater, which closed down soon thereafter.

The difference in location also played a critical role in the Khampaeng Saen Rama's survival over the Trisuk. In the early 1980's, Thailand's industrial boom was just beginning to take off. The wealth created by the boom led to a further proliferation of private cars into the country - especially in the central provinces where most of the industry was situated. New car owners, pining to show off their hot new wheels with a trip to the movies, would have found parking difficult in the close quarters of the central market, where the Trisuk Theater stood. The Khampaeng Saen Rama, on the other had, was built just on the outskirts of town, along the highway leading towards the provincial capital and beyond. Parking was abundant in the surrounding fields, thus making a trip to the pictures less of a hassle. 

Dwarfing surrounding structures, the Khampaeng Saen Rama.

Concession stand beneath the theater, stairs leading to the lobby.

Ribbon windows allow natural light to flood the lobby, while aiding the vines in their quest to colonize.

Left over lobby cards for the 1998 Wong Jing comedy "The Conman," starring Andy Lau.

Ticket window

A mere 25 baht for tickets at the time of the theater's closure in the early 2000's.

Inside the ticket sales room.

Bathroom art: Men's Room

Bathroom art: Women's Room

The equipment room was covered in graffiti, most of which related to movies screened at the theater. One could spend hours reading it all.

Gutted auditorium, once home to 400 seats. A VIP room was located at the rear.

Manager's office with left over Jackie Chan movie poster on door.

Bold signage

Samaan spoke reverently about his old work haunt, recalling capacity crowds for both movies and live concerts alike. 

"It was a lively place in its day," he mused. "There were times when the crowd would erupt with excitement or laughter; cheering and jeering for heroes and villains; swaying in their seats, or jumping out of them altogether. Running the place made me feel responsible for all those emotions."

At some point in the late 80's, the Khampaeng Saen Rama was acquired by the Fred Films circuit, a Bangkok-based second-run theater chain owned by Mr. Fred Banpreecha. But following a reorganization of the national movie distribution system, whereby the country was divided into exclusive territories between a handful of companies, the notorious Thana Cineplex circuit - subsidiary of Pranakorn Films - came to control the market in west-central Thailand. Known for the usurious business practice of charging a flat fee for each film instead of the standard revenue split between theater operator and distributor, Thana helped ensure further decline of the Khampaeng Saen Rama, which was already struggling against a rise of home entertainment consumption.

By the year 1999, the Khampaeng Saen Rama was through, ending a brief but bright run as Khampaeng Saen's cultural heart. 

Like many formerly shuttered theaters in small town Thailand, it was given a brief revival in 2001 to screen the royally-backed epic Suriyothai, before once again falling dormant.

As for the remaining 14 theaters throughout Thailand built in the exact same style as the Khampaeng Saen Rama, this is something to be on the look out for. That is, if any still exist.