River City Shopping Complex

infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = River City Shopping Complex


image_width = 150
location = Si Phraya Pier, Bangkok, Thailand
opening_date = December 1 1984 [ [http://www.rivercity.co.th/about.php :: Welcome to River City website :: ] ]
developer = Italthai Group and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
manager = Chao Phraya Development Corporation
owner = Italthai Group and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
floor_area = 47,567 m² (total retailed area)
parking = For about 500 cars
floors = 4
website = www.rivercity.co.th

River City Shopping Complex is a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located alongside the Chao Phraya River on the Si Phraya Pier.

Developed by the Italthai Group and The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group it opened on December 1 1984 and it has a floor area of 47,567 m². [ [http://www.rivercity.co.th/about.php :: Welcome to River City website :: ] ] When it was completed in 1984 the complex was awarded the Gold Medal for the “Best Commercial Complex” by the Association of Siamese Architects under the Royal Patronage of Thailand. The complex is very much an art and antique centre that showcases Thai art and culture. On the third and fourth floors are over 100 art and antique shops with antiques such as Buddha images, gold ornaments, large blue and white vases, porcelains, silver boxes and betel nut sets, art deco clocks and sculptures, intricate wood carvings and other artwork also from China, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Monthly auctions held at the River City auditorium on the fourth floor every first Saturday of each month organized by the Riverside Auction House Ltd.

There are also numerous independent art and antique shops in the vicinity. [ [http://www.thailandtravelsearch.com/River_City_Shopping_Complex_L750/ www.thailandtravelsearch.com] ]

History

The prime developers, the Italthai Group and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group., have established a long record of successful ventures together. It was developed as the first riverside shopping complex with the goals to redevelop the riverside area that was once the commercial center of Bangkok.

River City Shopping Complex as the first riverside shopping complex with 12,000 square meters of retail space with 180 shops on 4 floors and 10 shops at Antique Arcade offering a wide range of facilities and quality products for the discerning Thai and foreign shoppers. A wide range of facilities and services ensure River City’s customers and visitors their maximum convenience and shopping pleasure; two pair of escalator per floors, ample car parking space for more than 500 cars, a tourist information booth, 24-hour security service, a covered walkway connecting the Complex with the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers. A complimentary shuttle boat service ferries passengers between River City and Sathorn Pier,. Direct boat services also link River City with the Oriental Hotel, the Shangri-la, the Peninsula Hotel, the Millennium Hilton Hotel and the Royal River Hotel. The River City’s Boat Tour Centre established in 1990 provides services of river and canal tours, leisurely dinner cruises as well as an Ayudhaya bound luxurious cruise leaving from its’own pier

hop

The first and second floors of the River City Shopping Complex have a variety of silk shops, boutiques, tailors, jewellers, art galleries, leather stores and gift shops and center house foreign currency exchange outlets are located nearby to the building. There are also three top restaurants serving Thai and international cuisine; La Grande Perle and Sala Thai-are located on the first floor. The River City Bar-B-Q Corner operates on the second floor blacony overlooking the Grand Hall and on the open-air garden with a panoramic view of the Chao Phraya River and Bangkok.

Nothing is more striking at River City than the third and fourth floors of the shopping complex. The immense range available at the centre’s over 100 art and antique shops. Rare antiques including Buddha images, large blue and white vases, porcelains, silver boxes and betel nut sets, gold ornaments, art deco clocks and sculptures, intricate wood carvings and many other art and antique varieties from around the globe-China, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and European countries-are interminable. The world of art and antique is highlighted by the monthly auctions held at the River City auditorium on the fourth floor every first Saturday of each month. These monthly auctions are organized by the Riverside Auction House Ltd., with appraisal experts provided by the Association for the Propagation and Promotion of Objets d’Art.

Transportation

*Bangkok Skytrain – Saphan Taksin has Free Shuttle Boat Service going to the River City Shopping Complex Pier.

See also

* List of shopping malls in Thailand

References

External links

* [http://www.rivercity.co.th/ Official site]