It was 1932 - a time marked by the Great Depression, mass unemployment and widespread hardship.
But the doom and gloom wasn't universal. In popular culture, Hollywood was on the rise with new stars such as John Wayne, Bette Davis, Bing Crosby and Jean Harlow emerging. (Indeed, Newcastle’s Odeon cinema - the finest picture hall in the region - had opened a year earlier in 1931 and many more would soon follow across the North East). In football, Newcastle United won the FA Cup for the third time, beating Arsenal at Wembley Stadium. And shopping was on the rise with a host of major new stores opening in Newcastle city centre.
Despite the prevailing economic difficulties, Northumberland Street saw Marks & Spencer, British Home Stores, and C&A all unveil new outlets in 1932, while just across the city on Newgate Street the Co-op opened a huge department store in the same year.
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Local newspapers 90 years ago described it as "majestic" and "a palace of trade" - adding that "the new skyscraper building of the Newcastle Co-operative Society" was being built in two stages. Hundreds of members of the society attended the first opening in early September 1932, and by Christmas, shoppers were flocking to the store's various departments which included 'grocery and provisions', 'butchering', 'confectionery', and 'drug'.
The Co-operative is still with us today, but back in the 20th century, most North Eastern towns and villages had their own Co-op outlet or “store” selling every conceivable good and service. Newgate Street had been home to Co-operative premises since 1902 and the early days of the movement, but notwithstanding the emergence of Northumberland Street as Newcastle's main retail area in the 1920s and 30s, the Co-op decided to stay put in Newgate Street.
The Co-op’s in-house architect LG Ekins designed the new store, employing many internal and external Art Deco features that characterised the inter-war period. Classical and Egyptian styles also appeared in the design. With its twin towers, sweeping curves and huge windows boasting views across the city, the now-iconic building was regarded as Newcastle’s most elegant shopping outlet. Across 170,000 square feet and housed on six floors linked by marble-lined staircases, it was the ultimate retail experience.
But over time as tastes and fashions changed, shoppers increasingly took their custom to Northumberland Street and, later, to new shopping malls in Eldon Square and the Metrocentre in Gateshead. In 1998, the Rainbow Rooms nightspot, housed on the third floor of the Co-op building, shut down after more than 30 years. Then in 2007, the store itself – with the exception of the ground-floor food hall – closed after 75 years.
Finally, in 2011, that last section of the once imperious Co-op store at 117 Newgate Street shut up shop. It was the end of an era. Today, the building is home to a Premier Inn which opened in 2016 after a five-year, £17m revamp. Some of the Co-op's original architectural features live on in the popular hotel.
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