The Last Bookstore offers more than just books
The Last Bookstore, located at 453 S. Spring St., in Downtown Los Angeles, has a rich atmosphere and hides its old architecture as a bank with new swirls and mazes of books to look at.
December 8, 2014
Walking across the wooden black ramp, a tunnel of aging books and arched lighting above your head, a portal opens for the labyrinth that is The Last Bookstore.
Its name derives from the great irony of the path print books find themselves now. According to a survey conducted in January by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 50% of Americans own either a handheld device, such as an iPad or tablet, or an e-reader, such as a Kindle or Nook, for reading purposes. Believing “physical bookstores are dying out like dinosaurs,” The Last Bookstore operates to last against e-books.
The two-story bookstore began as an online store in a minimized loft during 2005. The Last Bookstore moved to the Old Bank District in downtown Los Angeles. Now in its third incarnation, the store moved once more to its current location in 2011 at Spring and Fifth street.
On the first floor, rows of vinyl records show off that the store doesn’t just sell books. The records span from any genre and almost any decade.
The most distinct factor of The Last Bookstore is its unorthodox take on a bookstore. Here is a place where different forms of art clash to create an atmosphere where inanimate objects come to life.
The vinyl records span from soundtracks, comedy tracks and music albums. From alternative rock listeners searching for The Smiths or 80s lovers in need of Madonna’s “Madonna,” there is a vinyl for whichever genre is of preference ranging with prices from 99 cents to $40.
With more than 100,000 books, becoming lost is the least of problems since they are all $1 on the second floor.
On the second floor, a hallway encompasses the guest with books which are all $1.
“I came here looking for a reference book for my political science major,” first time visiter Pamela Pedraza-Mendoza said. “This place is so artsy. I can’t help but wonder around.”
Buying more than 300 to 700 used books and records every weekend, The Last Bookstore is the largest independent bookstore in California. Since there is a stage on the first floor, events such as author visits, artists and even live music are held. Events can be viewed on The Last Bookstore’s website.
From the Secret Headquarters Dungeons storing comic books to the Crime, Law, Horror & Weirdness inside a vault, a perk from its past as a bank, there is no other bookstore that can bring such a mystic feel that will win the hearts of the book worm and unenthusiastic reader.
“Browse around,” buyer employee Alan Traylor said. “Don’t come here expecting to find a certain book. Get lost and have open eyes.”
