White Lion House, Chiang Mai

Last year I shared my exploration of the House of Success, an extravagant palatial ruin in the northwest corner of Chiang Mai immediately inside the old city walls. In that post I noted that there were two additional buildings of a similar style at the same site, one an active business and the other occupied by squatters. Returning this year for a second visit I was surprised to see that the squatters had left. Wasting no time, I strode into the Jangmuarinnakorn House, more generally known as the White Lion House, to document a previously missing piece of the puzzle.

Outside the White Lion House of Chiang Mai.

Francois Thai Development Co., Ltd. — The plaque in the entrance reads François Thai Development Co., Ltd.

Unreal window — Peering through an ornate window in a palatial abandonment in Chiang Mai’s old town.

Immediately upon entering I noticed an obvious clue: the plaque in the lobby reads François Thai Development Co., Ltd., evidently the developer that built this complex decades ago. This squares with what I found out while authoring last year’s post, namely that these ostentatious European-style buildings were designed to serve as a sales center for upscale condominiums in the boom times of the mid-1990s. Apparently the developer went broke and the entire property has been up for sale since 1997.

Main floor at the Chiang Mai White Lion House — On the ground floor at the White Lion House. Some effort has been undertaken to remove the window frames for whatever reason.

I found no sign of the squatters inside, no mattresses or personal possessions left behind. It actually looked like some effort had been undertaken to clean the place out. The huge pile of bricks out back and gaping holes in the walls suggest renovation or eventual demolition. From one of those gaps in the wall I noticed bamboo scaffolding all along the outside of the House of Success. Perhaps a buyer has finally been found?

The House of Success from within the White Lion House — A view of the House of Success through a break in the structure.

Mirrored stairways in the White Lion House — Mirrored stairways only accessible by stepping over a pile of bricks down below.

Statues on the balcony at the White Lion House.

Emerging onto the rooftop at the White Lion House.

The entire complex has long been the subject of supernatural speculation. This is a ghost story that practically writes itself: an ambitious real estate tycoon ignores warnings of bad feng shui, constructs an unusual set of buildings, moves into one of them with his family, slowly goes insane, and eventually hacks everyone into pieces (or whatever). It certainly makes for an interesting theme to explore through photography even if there’s nothing to substantiate the ghastly rumours.

Rams on the rooftop of the White Lion House.

Broken columns at the White Lion House — Broken columns.

Strange stone figures at the White Lion House — Strange stone figures.

Satellite dish on the White Lion House. I wonder if this was installed by the squatters?

The view from the top of the White Lion House is quite nice. Due to zoning laws inside the old city walls there are hardly any tall buildings so you can see clear across town, haze permitting. Gazing over the city walls is another matter—here you will see the big hospital and a mall beyond, the mix of urban sprawl and campus parkland the spills outward in every direction. Look down and you’ll see an empty patch of ground that used to be a swimming pool—and the House of Success itself, trussed up with bamboo scaffolding at the time these photos were shot.

An overview of the House of Success under renovation — The view of the House of Success from the rooftop of the White Lion House. Bamboo scaffolding suggests that the building might be undergoing renovation.

Second floor offices at the White Lion House — Scoping out the second floor offices at the White Lion House.

A crack in space at the White Lion House — Decorative columns cracked with age.

An old phone book and photos at the White Lion House — Artifacts inside the office.

A skull inside the White Lion House — Nothing spooky about this skull.

Completely destroyed negatives at the White Lion House — Completely destroyed negatives.

An office on the second floor of the White Lion House was home to some of the only interesting artifacts I found during my exploration. Apart from the skull—a nice touch—there was plenty of paperwork, a hand-written phone book, and a bunch of decayed negatives. All of these things had been disturbed, of course. Many people have been through this building over the years, not only under the aegis of urban exploration. There is a growing collection of graffiti inside the White Lion House that I have neglected to share photos of here (for they dispel something of the ambiance).

A closer look at a column in the White Lion House.

Beautiful windows of the White Lion House — Beautiful windows on the ground floor, one of the few that remains.

Dismantling the window frames of the White Lion House — Many window frames are laying around outside the entrance. I suppose workers are attempting to save anything that might be valuable?

In front of the White Lion House — One of the giant white lions after which the building is named.

Where the frame used to be — Evidence of a missing window frame on the ground floor.

In the end there wasn’t anything more amazing than I had seen next door at the House of Success but I am still glad I went. Sometimes it pays to return to ruins to further document their decay—or even gain access to new areas by chance or circumstance. The entire complex is showing new signs of activity, a sluggish awakening, and might not remain abandoned for much longer.

Update: as of 2019 both the White Lion House and the House of Success have become a boutique hotel. The exteriors remain about the same, but you’ll have to be a guest to see inside!