So many readers evoking so many memories for me!
Woody, I remember The Golden Mall in Burbank very well. I used to work in the Book City there. And right down the street was Book Castle, another terrific book store whose merchandise used to swell my library.
Elmore, Shillito's was our department store, despite the fact that there was also a Pogue's Department store in downtown Cincy. My father was an architect for Federated Department Stores which owned Shillito's, so the family got a 20% discount...thus all our shopping was done there. I also remember Willis which had hard-to-find show records.
JRand, when I first moved to Dallas in the mid-seventies, I lived right around the corner from the very first Half-Price Book Store on McKinny Ave. and was an habitue there. I'm glad to find them now in Cincy and Louisville and come November, we'll have one right here in Lexington. Since they've become a chain, they are not as marvelous and eclectic as they were in those early days in Dallas when they were just a one of a kind original used bookstore. But in these days of bland bookstores, they are still an anomaly and unique. One tip: They don't pay well for books you want to sell.
My favourite place growing up in Cincinnati was Main Street where there were three great used bookstores within a block of each other...Bert Smith's Acres of Books, Neville's Antiques, and Ohio Bookstore. Both Acres and Ohio each had five floors of books and what a treasure hunt one could have there. Most of my allowance was spent in these places.
The only one left standing now is Ohio Bookstore. I was there a few weekends ago, gathering up a hoard of inexpensive goodies. The two guys that worked there when I used to go in high school, still are there and run the place. One was probably around my age when he started working there in high school. They recognized me and we had a pleasant chat. They still carry old magazines and sheet music as well as books. They used to have old 78 records as well. It's still a great store where you can always find a nice surprise.
Oddly enough, when I moved to California, I discovered another Bert Smith's Acres of Books in Long Beach. It was the same Bert Smith from Cincinnati. He had apparently moved to Long Beach at some point and had sold the book store in Cincy, which retained the name. The store in Long Beach was also great and, as far as I know, still there.
BK, sad to hear about Tower Records. I remember my first visit to it after I moved to LA and I was agog. I too recall its wild and eccentric stock and its friendly and knowledgeable help. But, as you say, over the years, it's gotten more and more generic and began stocking the same of crap that all the other big chains do. I can personally attest to the shrinking of their standards and vintage singers in the last few years. And you can never find the DVDs that you can find in Amoeba.
It's even happening...to a lesser degree...to Canterbury Records in Pasadena, which was a great store.
When I moved out to LA in '78, Hollywood Blvd, probably had eight-to-ten great used bookstores from Highland down to Gower. If Book City has finally croaked its last gasp, there are now probably none!
