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 Fourth 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]

Bookstores[]

References[]

Citations[]

^ "Book Row Is Gone, But Used Bookshops Aren't". The New York Times. March 13, 1988. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
^ Nilsson, Jeff (April 23, 2011). "The Bibliomaniacs of Book Row". The Saturday Evening Post. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Geier, Stephanie (August 26, 2015). "4th Avenue: The History of NYC's Lost "Book Row"". Untapped Cities. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
^ Conroy, J. Oliver (March 4, 2019). "Why are New York's bookstores disappearing?". The Guardian. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ Hauser, Micah (February 25, 2019). "Is the Strand a Landmark?". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ Weekly%5d%5d https://books.google.com/books?s' Weekly]]. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "Pay Cut Starts City's 1st Strike In a Book Store". New York Herald Tribune. April 1, 1933. p. 6.
^ McDade, p. 179.
^ ^a ^b Phillips, McCandlish (September 30, 1969). "Dealers on Book Row Fear Rent Rises Will End an Era". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ Nielsen, John (May 31, 1981). "Old Bookstores: A Chapter Ends". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Shepard, Richard F. (April 27, 1984). "Survivors of Book Row". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
^ 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.
^ DeKok, Elizabeth (February 15, 2015). "The Strand and Book Row: A History". Unpacking the Bookstore. Retrieved June 25, 2019.

Bibliography[]

McDade, Travis (2013). Thieves of Book Row: New York's Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-992266-6.

Coordinates: 40°44′00″N 73°59′28″W / 40.7332°N 73.9910°W / 40.7332; -73.9910

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[:0-1] "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.

[:1-4] 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] Weekly%5d%5d https://books.google.com/books?s' Weekly]]. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)

[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.

[:2-10] 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.

[:3-12] 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.

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