It lies between the Chao Phraya River and Charoen Krung Road, and was home to communities of European expatriates who settled in the area mostly during the second half of the 19th century as Siam (as Thailand was then known) opened up to the West.

The canal separated the riverside communities, with the Chinese neighbourhood of Talat Noi on the city side, and the Portuguese Consulate and Assumption Church on the other, which later became known as Bang Rak.

As the country continued to modernize under Mongkut's successor King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, r. 1868–1910), Western values became expressed through the architecture of public and private buildings.

The project is supported by the Thailand Creative & Design Center, which re-established its headquarters at the Grand Postal Building (built in 1940 on the former site of the British consulate) in 2017, though concerns remain over the trend towards gentrification and the encroachment of development.

[8][9] Bang Rak Subdistrict occupies an elongated strip of land between Chao Phraya River to the west and Charoen Krung Road on the east.

[10] Bang Rak's multicultural history is reflected in its various historic and religious sites, which include Buddhist temples, mosques, a Chinese shrine, and the Catholic cathedral.

[12][13][14][15] Bang Rak is served by the BTS Skytrain's Saphan Taksin Station, which connects to the main Sathorn Pier of the Chao Phraya Express Boat.