Book Row

Book Row was a district in New York City from the 1890s to the 1960s composed of six city blocks which, at its peak, contained over three dozen bookstores.[1][2][3] Many – if not most – of the places were used bookstores.[4] In its heyday, Book Row spanned the stretch of Park Avenue between Union Square and Astor Place.[5][6] Other names for it included "Booksellers' Row" and "Second-Hand Row."[7][8]

By the 1960s, skyrocketing rents had forced most of the bookstores to move or close.[9][10] Apartments replaced most of the former storefronts.[10][11] Another factor contributing to Book Row's decline was the retirements and/or deaths of the stores' original owners.[12][13] By 1984, just two stores remained on Fourth Avenue.[12] The only bookstore from Book Row that survives today is the Strand Bookstore, which moved away in 1957 due to major rent increases.[4][14]

Book Stores

References

Citations
  1. "Book Row Is Gone, But Used Bookshops Aren't". The New York Times. March 13, 1988. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  2. Nilsson, Jeff (April 23, 2011). "The Bibliomaniacs of Book Row". The Saturday Evening Post. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  3. Fishbein, Rebecca (June 8, 2017). "A Brief History Of The Strand, As The Legendary Bookstore Turns 90". Gothamist. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  4. Geier, Stephanie (August 26, 2015). "4th Avenue: The History of NYC's Lost "Book Row"". Untapped Cities. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  5. Conroy, J. Oliver (March 4, 2019). "Why are New York's bookstores disappearing?". The Guardian. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  6. Hauser, Micah (February 25, 2019). "Is the Strand a Landmark?". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  7. "Booksellers' Row, New York". The Publishers' Weekly. April 28, 1917.
  8. "Pay Cut Starts City's 1st Strike In a Book Store". New York Herald Tribune. April 1, 1933. p. 6.
  9. McDade, p. 179.
  10. Phillips, McCandlish (September 30, 1969). "Dealers on Book Row Fear Rent Rises Will End an Era". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  11. Nielsen, John (May 31, 1981). "Old Bookstores: A Chapter Ends". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  12. Shepard, Richard F. (April 27, 1984). "Survivors of Book Row". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  13. Shepard, Richard F. (May 9, 1989). "Vestige of Book Row: Ex-Owner on Sidewalk". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019. Other booksellers grew old and vanished.
  14. DeKok, Elizabeth (February 15, 2015). "The Strand and Book Row: A History". Unpacking the Bookstore. Retrieved June 25, 2019.

Bibliography


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