Phaholyothin Road

(Source: thingsinthemselves)

And here is the upper half of the aforementioned Erawan Museum. The three stories inside Cerberus the pachyderm hold a collection of antiques and other priceless heirlooms belonging to Lek Viriyapant. As you might know, I’ve acquired a slightly mystical attachment to elephant-shaped architecture.

Apart from my favourite building in Bangkok, the Chang Tower, there is—bizarrely—quite a history of “zoomorphic architecture” in Europe and the US. Perhaps the most notable of these is the unrealized blueprint of the 18th century French architect Charles Ribart who, in 1758, proposed that a distinctive addition to the Champs-Élysées would be a three-story elephant replete with ballroom, spiral staircase entrance through the beast’s belly and a drainage system through the trunk. Now that is probably one of the best ideas anyone has ever had but the House of Bourbon lacked a sense of adventure and the Elephant Triomphal was never built. Curiously, it seems to have been a bit of a French obsession. There is a collection of sketches of the Éléphant de la Bastille here; an enormous elephant constructed after the Place de la Bastille was razed July 14, 1789, following several days of disturbances.

At this point, the jail was nearly empty, with only seven inmates: four counterfeiters, two madmen, and a young aristocrat who had displeased his father.

The elephantine tower was jettisoned in 1847, its passing mourned by Victor Hugo and the Bastille never recovered.

James V. Lafferty wasn’t French, but he did design a six story elephant out of wood and tin sheeting in 1882 in Margate City, New Jersey. Originally called the “Elephant Bazaar”, the local populace must have thought that a bit close to the bone (the Elephant Bizarre?) and renamed her Lucy. Lucy was a money-spinning exercise from start to finish. Her original purpose was to attract tourists and sell property but she was later used as a restaurant, business office, cottage and tavern (the latter closed by Prohibition). Those businesses which opened bases in Chang Tower, Bangkok might have read up on this cautionary history of elephant-related office space.

In fact, Lucy was not the only elephant building Lafferty designed. The second, the gasconading “Elephantine Colossus” was built at Coney Island amusement park in Brooklyn. This structure was 12 stories high, with a cigar store in one giant leg and a dioramic display in another. The main body was a hotel and one could climb to the head to find a panoramic sea view. Sadly, the Collosus was destroyed by fire in 1896.

A third Lafferty elephant, the “Light of Asia” (known as Old Dumbo to locals) was built in 1884 at Cape May. It was later torn down.

All elephant towers have suffered blighted histories (with the possible exception of Viriyapant’s museum). Most were created by oddballs and lavishly sponsored. There is a persistent idea there but I’m not sure we’ve seen it fully realized so far. I’ll be waiting.

Unknown date—thecatscratch

Samut Prakan, Thailand

Unknown date—EtK

Phaholyothin Road, Bangkok