Published caption : Taem Thong Residence was the first building to be erected in Kanchanaburi using concrete and is the only structure to have survived two large fires that swept through Pak Praek Street. It was built in 1867, a year before the death of King Rama IV, and so is now almost 150 years old. The house was located on the river bank until the Kwae Yai changed its course. Its exterior looks rather like a Chinese shrine and there was in fact a shrine in front of the house at one point in time, but it was later moved to another location nearby. Well protected by its Chinese-style walls, the gable of this halfwooden, half-concrete structure is decorated with floral stuccowork. The house has been lived in by five generations of the Taemthong family. You can still make out the murals painted by the original Chinese craftsmen on the gate and boundary wall.