Coliseum Buildings (Gaumont Palace & Odeon, Jokers Corner)

Both Matt Bros (shoes) and the Chocolate Box may have been on the Jordan Well side of the Coliseum when that picture was taken. (The apparent poster in the shop window is actually a reflection from the wall of the adjacent building).

When did this building lose the elegant upper floor along Whitefriars Street?

Just spoken to my father. The Chocolate Box was owned by his step cousin Charlie Nixon. It was run by Charlie's wife (dad could not remember her name this morning) while Charlie worked elsewhere. The shop benefited from its location near to The Gaumont Cinema, next to a pub called The Dun Cow and on one of the main pedestrian routes into town (few cars then most people walked into town). People queued to get into the cinema those days. Also the Lea Francis factory was at the back of The Chocolate Box and dad walked past the shop to get to work most days. He recalls a shop that sold scout uniforms, air guns and rifles (owned by the same people who had the one in Far Gosford Street), a furniture shop where mum and dad bought their first 3 piece suite, and a newsagents whose owners were friends with my grandparents (he couldn't recall their names but it may come back to him).

That was the dance hall which was bombed in the war. It was eventually rebuilt as office space.

Davies' "Smiths" "Mountford" The shop next door to the Dun Cow as renamed the Bon Bon Shop at some point.

Victor Sylvester used to have a dance studio upstairs in the Gaumont. My husband and I had our wedding reception there in June 1956. The cost was 10/6 per head for a three course meal with coffee!

Hi all With so much bomb damage to public buildings, meeting places were at a premium after the war. The upper floors of the Gaumont also had a winter garden area complete with a pond with goldfish. The various rooms were used by the Coventry bridge & crib club meetings amongst others. The manager at the time was a Mr Deakin

Thank you for the very interesting information posted so far. I've been having a look around on www.ancestry.co.uk and having got nowhere looking for Chocolate Box on there I thought I'd have a look under the street address of the most recent shop to occupy the premises, 33 Jordan Well. The most likely looking record I've found so far was for a Hannah Murray, occupation confectioner who is listed there in the 1904, 1908 and 1912 Kelly's Directory of Warwickshire. I've found a few more records of other businesses there before that including a fried fish shop and an umbrella maker. I can't find anything definite for what was there after that. Is she too early for the Chocolate Box people on this thread remember?

At www.historicaldirectories.org: Spennell's Annual Directory of Coventry & District, 1912-13, page 316 (image 297) has Murray, Chas., confectioner at 33 Jordan Well.

As far as I can tell Murray always traded as 'Murray' and had nothing to do with the 'Chocolate Box' which was at No.41 in those days.

I've been having another look under 41 Jordan Well. Further up the thread the name of Charlie Nixon is mentioned as the shop owner and that it was run by his wife. The first trade directory entry at the address as a confectioner is John L Harvey in 1921, then Mabel Heel in 1924. From 1928-1940 Mabel Nixon is listed. Could you ask your father if this was the name of Charlie Nixon's wife?

Mabel Heel married Charles Nixon in Coventry in 1925

Well, waddaya know? Just found this very rare pic: The picture is post war as the upper storey of the ballroom is missing but pre1960s as the corner shop was then occupied by Mountford the newsagent.

Very nice find. Well done for getting that dutchman. I do like the traffic signals on the corner.

That's a fantastic find Dutchman. So clear as well