NY- Strand Bookstore- Over 18 Miles of Books- 12th and Broadway
The Strand Book Store is an independent bookstore located in New York City‘s Greenwich Village neighborhood, at the corner of East 12th Street and Broadway. The store is famous amongst New Yorkers for its giant collection of new, used, rare, and out-of-print books, as well as the creative chaos on and around its shelves. The store houses the city’s largest collection of rare books. People can be spotted wearing Strand apparel all around Greenwich Village. The store claims to have “18 miles of books”.
A family-owned business with more than 200 employees, the Strand was opened by Benjamin Bass in 1927 on 4th Avenue’s famous Book Row. His son Fred took over the business in 1956 and soon moved the store to the present location, where the store occupies three and a half floors, using half a floor for offices and one additional floor as warehouse space. Fred’s daughter Nancy, is co-owner of the store.
In addition to the main bookstore, Strand has two additional locations, both in Manhattan: the Strand Book Annex located at 95 Fulton Street in the Financial District, and the Central Park Kiosk open on fairweather days at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street.
