The Last Bookstore is an

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, cl ...

located at 453 S Spring Street,

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

. '' Conde Nast Traveler'' called it California’s largest new and used bookstore.

History

The store was founded in 2005 by Josh Spencer. The first incarnation was a downtown Los Angeles loft. They sold books and other things online only, then focused on books, opened a small bookstore in December 2009 on 4th and Main streets. They moved to the current incarnation in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring streets on June 3, 2011. The store is 22,000 square feet. The current store is in a former bank with books on two levels, including the former vault. The Last Bookstore Book Window

'' Vox'' reported that the store creates visual merchandising through creative displays and book sculptures, which attracts Instagram users, "in the hope of trying to convert

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

visitors into book purchasers." In 2021, the bookstore installed a plant wall to the famous book tunnel. There is a restaurant called ''Yuko Kitchen''.

Media

Filmmaker Chad Howitt chronicled The Last Bookstore and its owner, Spencer, in a short documentary titled ''Welcome to the Last Bookstore'', released in 2016. It tells the story of how Spencer was injured as a young man and lost the use of his legs, forcing him to re-examine his life. ''Los Angeles Film Review'' called the effort an "ode to resilience."

In popular culture

The bookstore appeared in the 2014

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

movie '' Gone Girl'', and also in the 2018 movie '' Under the Silver Lake'', directed by David Robert Mitchell. The bookstore featured in the 2021

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel''.

References

External links

*
"The Man Behind 'The Last Bookstore'"
''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Bookstore, The Bookstores in California Buildings and structures in Los Angeles Companies based in Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles Independent bookstores of the United States Retail buildings in California Retail companies established in 2005 Tourist attractions in Los Angeles