Cooper's Motor Mart Building, Westgate Road

Image: © Andrew Curtis Taken: 29 Nov 2010

James Cooper's original building was for horse and carriage sales and opened on October 16, 1897. It provided stabling close to Central Station for 150 horses (and 20 dogs!) As horse-drawn vehicles became replaced by motor cars it was later converted into a car sales room and garage in the mid 1920s. Later, it was a Hertz Rental office for many years, then lay empty and was converted into offices ('Cooper's Studios') in 2008. Many of the original features of the building: tethering rings for the horses, a ground-floor auction and parading area overlooked by a ladies’ gallery, and a horse ramp to the upper floors, were retained by the Newcastle based architects, Ryder HKS, under the watchful eye of English Heritage. The full story and some interior photos are here http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/environment-news/2008/10/11/shaft-of-light-on-past-of-amazing-building-61634-22011186/ A more detailed description of the building and its history is here http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=494213&resourceID=5 Close by is Image but now suffering some damage to the upper mosaic panels.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0