Powell's City of Books- Largest Independent Bookstore in the World! (Portland, OR)

Although I get information and do things mostly in digital forms theses days, I visited Powell’s City of Books in Portland out of curiosity since it is known as the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world.

According to information that I found out, Powell's Books contains over 68,000 square feet (6,300 sq. m./ about 1.6 acres) of retail floor space. USA Today rated it as one of America's 10 best bookstores, and CNN rated it as one of the 10 "coolest" bookstores in the world.

First I noticed that Powell’s bookstore was very easy to find since it was located pretty much at the beginning of Portland's Pearl District at the edge of downtown, and the bookstore was so big that it occupied an entire city block. Also, since it was a rainy day in Portland, and I was trying to find things to do indoors to avoid the city's wet and cold rainy weather, gigantic Powell’s City of Books was a great place to spend hours or even the whole day.
 

Interestingly, even though Powell’s City of Books in Portland is the biggest and most well-known, the bookstore did not start in Portland.

Powell's Books has been serving Portland since 1971, but its roots began in Chicago when Michael Powell opened his first bookstore in 1970 as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. Encouraged by his friends and professors, Michael borrowed $3,000 to assume a lease on a bookstore. Running the bookstore ended up being so lucrative that he repaid the loan in less than 2 months.

Michael's dad, a retired painting contractor, worked with Michael in the Chicago store one summer and enjoyed his experience so much that he opened his own used bookstore when he returned to Portland.

Michael joined his father in Portland in 1979 and together they created a bookstore with a unique and successful mix: used and new, hardcover and paperback, all on the same shelf. Additionally, the store was open 365 days a year and staffed by knowledgeable booklovers. Almost 4 decades later, Powell's Books continues to thrive, serving both the local community and visitors from around the world.  

I can definitely say that I’ve never seen a bookstore with this many books ever in my life, and it was impressive that it even had a dedicated room for rare books.

Not only buying books, but I also saw that people can bring their used books and sell them here. Besides books, I noticed some exhibitions in the corners and events area. As a matter of fact Powell's Books hosts over 500 author events each year, plus numerous story times for children, game demonstrations, book clubs, and writing workshops.

Powell’s City of Books was so big there were information desks with people helping out on every floor. But some things that I did not like about Powell’s City of Books compared to the famous book store in Denver that I visited (Tattered Cover Book Store) were that Powell’s Books did not seem to have as much of a historic feel to it in the store interior and it was not as inviting to sit down to read and spend time like at Tattered Cover. Instead of an atmosphere of historic and lounging with books with ample seating arrangements and desks, Powell’s had more of a warehouse feel to me.

In addition to its flagship "City of Books" location, Powell's Books also has several smaller stores- Portland's Hawthorne District, Cedar Hills Crossing in Beaverton, and even at Portland International Airport.