THE LAST STAND

The planned demolition of Chao Mae Thab Thim Shrine highlights the clash between development and heritage

- ATITAYA TEEPAWAT

Hearts were broken when the Property Management of Chulalongkorn University (PMCU) greenlit the decision to raze Scala Cinema, the last stand-alone cinema in Bangkok, in 2020 despite opposition from activists who attempted to save the cinema's irreplaceable art deco architecture.

Questions were directed to the university’s property management arm who later leased the prominent real estate lot to retail and property developer Central Pattana Plc (CPN) in 2021.

Fast forward to 2025, the cinema has been completely demolished and the foundation for a new commercial building has been laid. Nonetheless, no answers have been provided to the public as to why Scala Cinema could not have been preserved amid development in Siam Square.

Now many have raised a new question to the PMCU — is Chao Mae Thab Thim Shrine the next Scala Cinema?

Five years ago, a then-Chulalongkorn University student and activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal initiated a campaign against the demolition of the Chinese shrine surreptitiously approved by the PMCU. At the time, Chao Mae Thab Thim Shrine was not as widely known as other famous Chinese landmarks in Bangkok. However, Netiwit and his team successfully brought the small shrine’s name to light.

"When I first initiated my campaign to save the shrine, I honestly did not expect that it would change the decision [to demolish] made by the PMCU. I only wanted it to be educating for the younger generation to learn the importance of resilience," Netiwit revealed.

With Chinatown sprawling across inner Bangkok during late the 1800s to early 1900s, many Chinese people came to the Sam Yan and Saphan Leung area to settle and establish businesses. In 1957, Chulalongkorn University secured the Sam Yan neighbourhood and has taken the role of landlord ever since.