Powell's Bookstores closes South Loop store

July 9, 12:33 AMChicago Literary Scene ExaminerRobert Duffer

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Chicago Literary Scene Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

This is NOT the Burnham Park store

One of three Powell's Bookstores locations is closing in Chicago but this is good news for everyone who doesn't frequent the Burnham Park store in the South Loop(828 S. Wabash). Every title in stock--used and new--is 50% off and Powell's doesn't forecast a final closing until early September. Unlike its sister bookstores in Hyde Park and Lincoln Park, the Burnham Park location partly served as a warehouse for new books rather than a local literary hub that hosted readings. They are consolidating their stock into a new warehouse and phasing out the ground floor-basement behemoth beloved by so many students and faculty from the surrounding universities. 

Thanks to the Gapers Block post on Monday, I checked out my local and can assure you that there are aisles full of half-priced books. The fiction and playwriting sections have shrunk considerably since my last time, but when you consider that there are half a wall upstairs and two aisles downstairs, plenty of great books remain. Average price with the clearance? $2.50. The tables downstairs are stacked belly-high with hardcover and paperback good-if-not-best sellers. Check your bag and take your time, there are a lot of great finds in these economic times.