In a previous post (15 August 2009) we signaled our intent to examine a few of the world's great independent booksellers, a useful antidote, we believe, to the mistaken impression that Amazon is the end-all and be-all of bookselling.
We begin this sporadic investigation with a look at what arguably are the two largest independent booksellers in the USA, Powell's Books and Strand Book Store.
Strand is the longer-established of the two, having been opened by Benjamin Bass in 1927 on New York City's fabled Book Row. Sadly, of the 48 bookshops that once graced this section of Fourth Avenue below Union Square, Strand is the sole survivor:
When Ben's son, Fred Bass, took over this family enterprise in 1956, he moved the store to its present location on Broadway at East 12th Street, where its 18 miles of books (roughly 2.5 million+ books) are known to completely overwhelm first-time visitors. (There is a Strand kiosk in Central Park, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street, that is open when the weather is cooperative. The Strand Annex, which was located in Manhattan's Financial District, closed in 2008.)
Powell's was founded by Walter Powell in 1971 on a derelict corner of northwest Portland, Oregon. Over the years it grew rapidly, moving into a former car dealership, which dealership has since been renovated and expanded multiple times. Today, Powell's operates six bookstores in the Portland area (four full-service, two specialty). Its City of Books probably is the best-known of its stores, though the location (1005 W. Burnside, near Portland's often-heavily-trafficked Burnside Bridge), can make accessing it a bit tricky at times:
If you like to combine your love of books with other pleasurable experiences, Powell's location in the Portland Farmers' Market will more likely be your venue of choice.
Do you have a favorite independent bookseller? If so, we would love to hear from you....
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