Then And Now: Center One Mall - Burned Out, But Restored

Center One mall, vers 2.0 - March 2012

Back in August of last year I'd posted a couple of panorama shots of Thanon Ratchawithi, taken from the walkway at the Victory Monument BTS station.  Those two were posted as part of the "Then and Now" series, showing what the Center One mall area looked like before and after the violent demonstrations of May 2010.

In the photos below you'll see a green colored complex somewhat blocking your view of Center One, but that area is as of now still vacant, other than the usual assortment of stalls and stands that pop up like panic grass shortly after a nuclear blast.  Center One is purple now, maybe to avoid any confusion as to whether it's "red" or "yellow" after the confrontations that led to its being gutted by fire almost two years ago.

As a shopping mall it's no great shakes overall; there are far finer and more varied shopping places fairly nearby, but I was staying at a hotel nearby when I was looking for my first cell phone to use there, and a friend suggested I try Center One to buy one... so I did.  I've lost track of the guy who sold it to me, but I still have the phone around.

Anyway, since there was a new photo of the place - risen from the ashes, so to speak - here it is. The earlier photos from 2009 and 2010 are below.

Center One before the protests of May 2010

The same area after the protests of May 2010