For centuries, the Tha Tien area — a riverside quarter on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River — thrived as one of Bangkok’s largest trading communities. In earlier days, before modern roads, it was a cluster of residences: noble residences, senior officials’ houses, and rows of wooden homes of merchants and commoners. From the Ayutthaya period, through Thonburi, and into early Rattanakosin, the area was known for its lively dockside market where boats from neighbouring provinces brought fruit, vegetables, rice, and other produce to sell.

During the reign of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V), Bangkok began to transform. Determined to modernise the city and present a civilised image to the world, the king ordered the tidying and reorganising of the markets around the Grand Palace. In 1909, the monarch commissioned a new structure for Tha Tien Market: a U shaped block of European-style shophouses enclosing a central market hall. The three main entrances were marked by archways, leading into the covered market at the centre. The outer ring was built as two-storey brick buildings, while the inner section consisted of a single-storey wooden structure.

This architectural reform reshaped Tha Tien. The new shophouses turned the area into one of Rattanakosin’s first wholesale hubs. The market bustled with goods of every kind: building materials, agricultural equipment, car parts, fruit and vegetables, sugar, sweets, and dried seafood. In the reign of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), Tha Tien was officially designated as a subdistrict (“tambon”) under Phra Ratchawang District (present-day Phra Nakhon).

A further shift came in 1953, during the premiership of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who introduced the Market Organisation Act. The government decided to move the fruit and vegetable wholesale section away from this royal riverside location to Pak Khlong Talad. From that time, the dockside market became known as the “Market Organisation Market.” By the 1970s, river transport began to decline as Bangkok’s expanding network of roads and buses proved faster and more convenient. Passenger boat services, once a defining feature of the Tha Tien piers, ceased operation — except for the small cross-river ferries that still operate today.

Over the decades, the traditional fresh market has faded in significance. While a few shops still sell dried goods and wholesale items, the main character of Tha Tien today has changed. The historic shophouses, once busy with porters and carts, now stand as a backdrop for cafes, guesthouses, and cultural tourism. With its close proximity to Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, the area has found a new life as one of Bangkok’s most atmospheric neighbourhoods for visitors seeking the riverfront charm of old Siam.