March 21, 2011
Strand Bookstore @9:17 pm
Union Square/East Village
I had such a good time last week at Bleecker Bob’s, I thought that every Sunday I would venture out and go visit a local and independent store. I know from growing up in Peoria, Illinois that sometimes you just can’t escape the chain stores, some towns don’t have as many choices as others. But in New York there’s really no excuse not to shop local, at least most of the time. So that’s what I’m going to do every Sunday evening for the MAD blog.
Tonight I’m going to a legendary bookstore in Manhattan. The Strand bookstore has stood tall in the face of competition from chains like Barnes and Noble and Borders and from online stores and devices like Amazon and the Kindle and the iPad, oh my! Strand opened in 1927 and still does a brisk business seven days a week. The store and its 18 miles of books has been featured in movies such as, Julie and Julia and Six Degrees of Separation. And they’re open every night until 10:30 pm. Perfect for a nighttime visit from MAD. Shall we?
We'll go right down 14th, hang a right on Broadway and...
Boom! Here we are at the Strand Bookstore.
They have rows of outside shelving units offering hundreds, if not thousands of books for a buck. In the summertime if I'm going to Coney Island or taking a long subway trip I always stop here and pick up a buck book for the ride there and back.
Jinny and O were checking out some of the books outside.
It's still chilly out here, so let's go inside and take a look around at this giant-sized bookstore.
I wish I had a fisheye lens to capture the whole first floor, but this will give a pretty good idea of the number of books in this place. The Burgess Meredith character from that Twilight Zone episode would've creamed his jeans in this joint!
Here's a couple of tables of books specifically about New York.
This isn't a book about the sandwich chain.
Strand buys used books and here's some stacks the store purchased that you can buy tomorrow.
You find some unusual neighbors in bookstores. Here's Marilyn Monroe next to Hunter S. Thompson.
Nice to see John Lennon next to David Bowie as they were friends in real life.
Here's a couple of Ian Fleming 007 novels. I like looking at book covers and spines just as much as album covers.
Whoops...I think we'll just skip this section, I've had enough of Oprah for three and a half lifetimes.
A tall stack of books to be re-shelved.
Hey look, it's the Twitter Whale! He can read? Who knew? I have to Tweet this when I get home! It's sure to get retweeted!
Here's Daniel and Van working the back counter of the store.
Let's go up to the second floor and see what's going on.
Hey buddy, what do you think this is, a Barnes and Noble cafe? Get up and buy the book, cheapskate and let's keep this place in business!
Wow, this looks like a cool book and it's one of my favorite movies. Let's look inside of it.
It's got the entire script and tons of photos from the movie. Very nice!
Here's a variety of coffee table books. I don't see Kramer's though.
An aerial view of the lights and books on the first floor.
Let's see what's on the third floor. I'll take a kooky guess and say, "More books."
Art. I wonder if they mean Garfunkel or Fleming? Who knew so many books were written on those two icons of entertainment.
Cool cover for the "Art and Text" book. Simplicity at its finest hour. Hey I went to art college for four months, I know what I'm talking about!
This Popeye cover of a serpent coming out of Wimpy's pants is a little suggestive, buy who am I to judge?
An overhead shot of the front of Strand's.
Strand bookbags...
Strand coffee mugs...
And for those of you that like to indulge in the risky business of drinking and reading: Strand shot glasses.
Speaking of that, I'm ready for a beer or seven, so it's time to say over and...well, you know. See you tomorrow, after dark.
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Strand: A Brief History
(Reprinted from their website.)
The Beginning
In 1927, Ben Bass opened Strand Book Store on Fourth Avenue, home of New York's legendary Book Row. Named after the famous publishing street in London, the Strand was one of 48 bookstores on Book Row, which started in the 1890's and ran from Union Square to Astor Place. Today, the Strand is the sole survivor.
All in the Family
Ben's son Fred started working in his father's store at the age of 13. After a tour of duty in the Armed Forces, Fred returned to the family business and took over its management in 1956. Soon after, he moved the store to its current location on Broadway at 12th Street, where he rented 4,000 square feet of space - a very large space, at that time. The Strand now occupies 55,000 square feet of space.
8 Miles of Books
In the 1970s, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George F. Will wrote, "the eight miles worth saving in this city are at the corner of Broadway and 12th Street. They are the crammed shelves of the Strand Book Store."
18 Miles of Books...And Then Some
More than thirty years later, the Bass family now owns the building at Broadway and 12th Street. They also operate the Kiosks in Central Park. In the early 1990s, Strand went online and today book lovers from around the world can shop from our entire selection at strandbooks.com.
Today
Strand Book Store remains a fiercely independent family business with Fred and his daughter, Nancy Bass Wyden, at the helm. With over 200 employees, more than 2.5 million used, new and rare books, a renovated main store and a growing author events program, the Strand looks forward to offering great books at great prices to book-lovers worldwide for another 80 years.
The Next Generation
On October 26, 2007, the Strand Book Store welcomed its newest family members, William Peter and Ava Rose Wyden. These are the first children for Strand owner Nancy Bass Wyden and her husband, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Strand
828 Broadway. (@12th St.)
(212) 473-1452
Further reading and video: Examiner, Wikipedia, Daily Beast and Strand on YouTube.
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Some Things I Did Before Work Today
Wondered where the weekend went.
Listened to Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
Went to Netflix.
Added Fear Strikes Out to my queue.
Hope it shows up by Friday.
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