55 Degrees North

Image: © Andrew Curtis Taken: 15 Jan 2010

This block was built, as Swan House, on a large roundabout Image above the Central Motorway which here runs in a tunnel under the left side, heading for the Tyne Bridge. The visible roads are slip roads which lead to the roundabout. The block is on the site of John Dobson's magnificent, Royal Arcade, built in 1831-32 by Richard Grainger. Location has always been a problem here, and Dobson's shopping arcade proved unsuccessful having the rough Manor Chare at its rear. It was finally demolished in 1963 for the construction of the Central Motorway and Swan House. Metro Radio occupies part of the building at a lower level on the south-east corner (visible to the left). Swan House was vacated in the 1990s and it was never clear if people would be happy living on a roundabout. At least the building can now be approached from a road-level crossing from Pilgrim Street and Mosley Street to the west which may have more appeal than the pedestrian underpasses and walkways. A reconstructed Royal Arcade now forms part of Bar 55 on the ground floor of the newly refurbished Swan House which was re-branded as '55 Degrees North' and is now mainly residential. http://www.timmonet.co.uk/html/body_swan_house.htm

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