Coventry City Library building (former Locarno Dancehall)

A former dance hall, now serving as Coventry's central library. Built between 1958 and 1960 by the Coventry City Architects Department in association with Kett and Neve as the Locarno Ballroom, the building was converted to a city library in 1986.

The structure is of reinforced concrete with the roof carried by steel trusses. The four-storey building with basement contains shop premises at basement, ground and first floor levels, with a concrete canopy projecting over the pavements on Smithford Way and the approach to the Lower Precinct. The former ballroom, now the library reading room, occupies the second and third floor levels and features a continuous internal gallery approached by staircases at the corners of the space.

Materials include Portland stone and white marble facings with panels of glass mosaic and Blockley City Mixture red brick laid in English bond. The ground-floor shops have plate glass windows.

The eastern front to Smithford Way and the south front facing the approach to the Lower Precinct are similar in treatment. Ground-floor shops have plate glass windows divided by stone-clad piers, with Portland stone facing to the first floors. Originally a continuous horizontal band of glazing existed at first floor level, but this was altered at the corner to include full-height glazing. Above this, the two-storey ballroom features rectangular panels of red brickwork laid in English bond. The grid between these panels is formed by an abstract glass mosaic mural designed by Fred Millet, with bright colours set against a dark background. Horizontal slit windows are regularly spaced within the mosaic panels to create a patterned effect and are intended to be illuminated from inside at night. White marble fascia panels form horizontal bands above and below this patterned walling. The northern end of the Smithford Way front differs from the southern portion: the ground floor has a late 20th or early 21st century lean-to glazed canopy. Above this, the first and second floors are covered with stone panels featuring horizontal ventilation and window slits. The third floor is stepped back with windows and wall panels set in a metal grid. A glazed staircase and lift tower with canted corners and metal mullions and transoms forms the new library entrance, added after 1986.

The rear of the building, facing the service yard bounded by Corporation Street, Smithford Way and Lower Precinct, is L-shaped. The western face has brick walling laid in stretcher bond with few window openings and service doors at ground floor level. The upper two floors project outwards, supported on substantial concrete beams, with walling of panels set in a metal grid featuring two and three-light casements. The northern and western sides abut other buildings.

The interior was refitted around 1986 during conversion to the city central library. The original double-height dance floor area was preserved and converted to the library reading room. The balcony surrounding all four sides of the roughly square ballroom was retained, though its facings and handrails were altered and the suspended ceiling was replaced. A dogleg staircase at the north-western corner leading to the balcony retains its original balustrade featuring cast steel circle motifs. Originally four similar staircases existed at each corner; the others have been replaced. Former cloakrooms, bars and service areas have been converted to meeting rooms and offices, while storage areas with brick walls and exposed concrete beams remain. The extension housing a lift and staircase added after 1986 originally contained a lobby and reception area at basement and ground floor but has now been adapted to house public lavatories at basement level. Most other fittings including doors, sanitary ware and partitions are of post-1986 date, and shop premises have been refitted subsequently.