Seattle Woman 'Marries' Abandoned Building

Occupier Baylonia Aivaz protesting gentrification
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2012 11:57 AM CST
Seattle Woman 'Marries' Abandoned Building
This is an abandoned building, but not Baylonia Aivaz's "mate."   (Shutterstock)

An Occupy Seattle protester "married" an abandoned warehouse on Sunday, not because of a weird fetish, but in order to protest gentrification, the Los Angeles Times reports. "I'm doing this to show the building how much I love it, how much I love community space, and how much I love this neighborhood. And I want to stop it from gentrification," Baylonia Aivaz tells KOMO-TV. The building, which protesters had occupied recently, is scheduled to be torn down and the space turned into apartments.

"If corporations can have the [same] rights as people, so can buildings," continues Aivaz, who did wear a wedding dress for the festivities and described the event as a "gay marriage" ("presumably because the building had the female vibe," quips the Times). She and other Occupy Seattle protesters wanted the 107-year-old warehouse to be turned into a community space to showcase artwork or provide services, but the planned demolition will move forward. (Click for five more people who married inanimate objects.)

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