When Josh Spencer decided to open a bookstore called the Last Bookstore in Los Angeles, he pictured it as a post-apocalyptic thing — the Last Bookstore on Earth. But now that he's moved to a much larger space, an old bank headquarters in an Art Nouveau building, quirky weirdness has taken over.
Top image: Robjtak on Flickr.
Talking to Southern California Public Radio, Spencer explains the original impetus behind the Last Bookstore:
I’ve always been into science fiction and post-apocalyptic things, so I always wondered what a cool ‘last bookstore’ would look like for some future civilization.
The bookstore has been in its much larger space for about a year, and attractions include color-coded books, chandliers made out of bicycle wheels, a tunnel of books and a sculpture where books appear to be "flying off the shelves." See some photos below, via Robjtak on Flickr and KCRW:
DISCUSSION
I live just a few blocks away from this place, and it's my FAVORITE. Every time I go in, it's bigger and better. This article doesn't show the vault that used to house an art installation called "I Manifest," which I walked into completely unawares. Very weird, very cool.
Plus, you can pick up some very fun old used books for $1. Just because it made me laugh, I picked up "Creating the Feeling of England In Your Home." It's a, like, 25 page coffee table book of ridiculousness.
Between this and the Central Library, DTLA is a great place for bibliophiles.