Co-Coperative Emporium And Danum House

The Doncaster Co-operative Society operated a department store on St Sepulchre Gate in Doncaster. In the 1930s, it decided to open a replacement shop on the opposite site of the road. It was constructed from 1938 to 1940, to a design by local architect Henry Arthur Johnson. It was originally named the "Co-operative Emporium". The building contained a ballroom on the third floor, at which performers included The Beatles, Johnny Dankworth and Cleo Laine. It later became a nightclub, known variously as Karisma, Romeo and Juliets, and Seventh Heaven, which closed in 2004. After attending the World Budgerigar Championships, James Hunt was barred from entering the club due to being drunk, and…

Elain Harwood describes the building as "the most strikingly moderne Co-operative department store". The central block is five storeys high, clad with brick, and the wings are of three storeys, clad in Vitrolite tiles. In the centre is a glazed staircase tower, while the ground floor has continuous plate glass shopfronts, with bronzed window frames and black Vitrolite tiles below. The north and south facades have four storey blocks, that to Duke Street including a large goods entrance for lorries. Inside, the key features are the central and rear staircases, the central one surrounding a glass brick lift shaft.