It looks like this old bird has more than one life. The Black Swan Records building at the corner of West 4th & Bayswater will be sticking around… but in name only. Although the location was undoubtedly a local landmark of sorts, conjuring up nostalgic memories in the hearts and ears of musical hipsters, the run-down site couldn’t make the city’s heritage list. So a smart developer gobbled up the building with plans on feeding the area’s hungry housing market.
Stop the music. Once the re-development plans were made public, Black Swans fans came out of the woodwork and petitioned to rescue it. The building was even placed on the top 10 list of "endangered sites" by Heritage Vancouver.
Although protesters weren’t able to keep the 1922 relic standing, they’ve apparently managed to guilt the real estate developer into keeping the moniker – Black Swan Apartments are born.
Last modified: December 9, 2008
Actually, “Black Swan Apartments” sounds good. But if the developers at W.4th and Collingwood call theirs “The Fitness Group Residences”, I’m outta here…
Wicked site – you guys rock!