The_Last_Bookstore
The Last Bookstore
Bookstore in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
The Last Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 453 S Spring Street, Downtown Los Angeles. Conde Nast Traveler called it California’s largest new and used bookstore.[1]
| Industry | Specialty retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 (2005) |
| Founder | Josh Spencer |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 1 store |
Area served | Los Angeles metropolitan area |
| Products | New, used and rare books |
| Owner | Josh Spencer |
Number of employees | 50+ |
| Website | http://lastbookstorela.com |
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The store was founded in 2005 by Josh Spencer. The first incarnation was a downtown Los Angeles loft. They sold books and other things online only, then focused on books and opened a small bookstore in December 2009 on 4th and Main streets. They moved to the current incarnation in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring Streets on June 3, 2011.[2][3][4] The store is 22,000 square feet.[5] The current store is in a former bank with books on two levels, including the former vault.[further explanation needed]
Vox reported that the store creates visual merchandising through creative displays and book sculptures, which attracts Instagram users, "in the hope of trying to convert Instagram visitors into book purchasers."[5]
In 2021, the bookstore installed a plant wall to the famous book tunnel. There is a restaurant called Yuko Kitchen.[6]
Filmmaker Chad Howitt chronicled The Last Bookstore and its owner, Spencer, in a short documentary titled Welcome to the Last Bookstore, released in 2016. It tells the story of how Spencer was injured as a young man and lost the use of his legs, forcing him to re-examine his life.[7] Los Angeles Film Review called the effort an "ode to resilience."[8]
The bookstore appeared in the 2014 David Fincher movie Gone Girl, and also in the 2018 movie Under the Silver Lake, directed by David Robert Mitchell.[9][10]
The bookstore featured in the 2021 Netflix series Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.[11]
- "The Last Bookstore: Our Review". Conde Nast. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- Bartlett, James (14 May 2014). "Josh Spencer: The Last Bookstore Owner". LA Weekly. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- Kellogg, Carolyn (15 June 2011). "Downtown L.A.'s the Last Bookstore defies trends". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- "Inside 'The Last Bookstore' in Downtown Los Angeles". Untapped Cities.
- Chittal, Nisha (19 December 2018). "Independent bookstores are growing — and Instagram helped". Vox.
- "The Last Bookstore Los Angeles Installs Living Plant Wall at New Location". Sunset Magazine. 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- Ajaka, Nadine (August 18, 2016). "The Man Behind 'The Last Bookstore'". The Atlantic.
- Grey, Linn (23 May 2016). "Review – Welcome to the Last Bookstore". Los Angeles Film Review.
- "Gone Girl – Filming & Production". IMDb. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- "Under the Silver Lake – Filming & Production". IMDb. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- Turchiano, Danielle (13 January 2021). "Netflix Announces Elisa Lam Docuseries 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 21 January 2021.