Topics > Newcastle City Centre > Streets > Pilgrim Street > 55 Degrees North (Swan House)
55 Degrees North (Swan House)
55 Degrees North, formerly Swan House, sits above a traffic roundabout at the bottom of Pilgrim Street, Newcastle. Swan House was built 1963-1969 and housed the offices of BT. Controversially the Royal Arcade, designed by John Dobson and built in 1832, was demolished to make way for Swan House and the Central Motorway. The design included pedestrian underpasses under the roundabout, and was a different take on the 1960's 'city in the sky' vision. The building was named after local inventor Joseph Swan (1828 -1914); outside the building there is a sculpture called 'Articulated Opposites' by Raymond Arnott (1969) celebrating the electric light bulb which Swan invented. In 2004, after a major refurbishment, Swan House was renamed 55 Degrees North - transforming perceptions of it as a "1960s concrete monstrosity" into "165 executive flats, shops, bars and restaurants in a Continental-style plaza".
![](http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/04/02/39/4023992_63228682.jpg)
from Geograph (geograph)
55 Degrees North and Metro Radio studios, Newcastle upon Tyne
Pinned by Pat Thomson
![](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3485/4086911223_138c9c9d3f_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
063137: Holy Jesus Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, c1970
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
![](/uploads/thumbs2/modern_architecture.png)
from http://manchesterhistory.net/…
55 Degrees North, Formerly Swan House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Added by
Simon Cotterill
![](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8065/8190779240_32269b548d_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Tor135, Pilgrim street, Newcastle upon Tyne
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
![](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7487/15869884579_457478d504_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Pilgrim Street Subway, Newcastle upon Tyne, c1980
Pinned by Pat Thomson
![](/static/img/loading.gif)
![](http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/04/02/39/4023992_63228682.jpg)
from Geograph (geograph)
55 Degrees North and Metro Radio studios, Newcastle upon Tyne
Pinned by Pat Thomson
![](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3485/4086911223_138c9c9d3f_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
063137: Holy Jesus Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, c1970
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
![](/uploads/thumbs2/modern_architecture.png)
from http://manchesterhistory.net/…
55 Degrees North, Formerly Swan House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Added by
Simon Cotterill
![](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8065/8190779240_32269b548d_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Tor135, Pilgrim street, Newcastle upon Tyne
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
![](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7487/15869884579_457478d504_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Pilgrim Street Subway, Newcastle upon Tyne, c1980
Pinned by Pat Thomson