Book Row was a district in
New York City from the 1890s to the 1960s composed of six
city block
A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design.
A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...
s which, at its peak, contained over three dozen
bookstores.
Many – if not most – of the places were
used bookstores.
In its heyday, Book Row spanned the stretch of
Fourth Avenue between
Union Square and
Astor Place. Other names for it included "Booksellers' Row" and "Second-Hand Row."
By the 1960s, skyrocketing rents had forced most of the bookstores to move or close.
Apartments replaced most of the former storefronts.
Another factor contributing to Book Row's decline was the retirements and/or deaths of the stores' original owners.
By 1984, just two stores remained on Fourth Avenue.
The only bookstore from Book Row that survives today is the
Strand Bookstore
The Strand Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 828 Broadway, at the corner of East 12th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, two blocks south of Union Square. , which moved away in 1957 due to major rent increases.
Bookstores
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Argosy Book Store
The Argosy Book Store is New York City's oldest independent bookstore. Located at 116 East 59th Street in Midtown Manhattan, it occupies an entire six-story townhouse with various sales floors specializing in first editions, Americana, leather ...
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Atlantis
* Biblo & Tannen
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J.R. Brussel Book Shop
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Louis Schucman Bookseller
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Ortelius
* Pelican Book Shop
* The
Strand Bookstore
The Strand Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 828 Broadway, at the corner of East 12th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, two blocks south of Union Square.
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Weiser Antiquarian Books Weiser Antiquarian Books is the oldest occult bookstore in the United States. It specialises in books on Aleister Crowley and his circle, magic, mysticism, eastern religions and alternative spirituality. Its earlier New York incarnation, The Weiser ...
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University Place Book Shop
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Bookstore neighborhoods
Neighborhoods in Manhattan
East Village, Manhattan
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