THE former White Swan Hotel is a York landmark with a troubled history.
Our archive photo today takes us more than 100 years and shows the hotel on the junction of Pavement and Piccadilly not long after it opened, replacing an older building of the same name. 
 This image was probably taken around 1915, shortly after the hotel opened in 1912.
The original White Swan Hotel was an old coaching inn and faced on to Pavement but it was pulled down to create this part of Piccadilly and lay a road down to Fishergate.

York Press: Former White Swan hotel - now the Pavement VaultsFormer White Swan hotel - now the Pavement Vaults (Image: google) 
The second White Swan Hotel had a chequered past, closing in the 1980s and lying derelict for decades - becoming an eyesore in the centre of the city.

---

Read next:

* Hollywood and royals flock to York Minster for pop star wedding - look back in photos

* Recognise this parade of York shops? It looks different now

---
It was briefly occupied by squatters in 2003 which drew even more publicity to the fact this large building was in need of a new lease of life.
So there was much celebration when the building became a new bar, Pavement Vaults, in 2015.
Flats were built in the upper floors.
For more local nostalgia - join our Facebook group, Why We Love York - Memories.