The Largest Independent Bookstore In Oregon Has More Than One Million Books
By Catherine Armstrong|Published April 30, 2019
×
Catherine Armstrong
Author
Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
If you love books, you probably spend a lot of time in libraries and bookstores, and you love whiling away an entire afternoon amongst the shelves. There’s a bookstore in Portland that’s so large that it would take you weeks to properly explore the entire store. In fact, Powell’s Books in Portland is so large that it’s home to more than one million books!
Walter Powell had retired from his career as a painting contractor, and he was looking for a new adventure. His son Michael had opened up a used bookstore in Chicago the year earlier, and once Michael spent some time there, he was hooked. He came home from Chicago and opened up Powell's Books on Northwest Burnside.
As Powell's Books grew over the years, it just kept getting bigger and better, eventually taking up an entire city block.
Today, the flagship store is home to more than one million books. It's still family-owned, with Michael's granddaughter, Emily Powell running the store today.
Advertisement
Powell's Books covers 68,000 square feet over four floors, and it's absolutely vast.
To help customers navigate their way around the store, it's divided into nine different rooms, each given a different color. Inside each room, multiple sections separate books of different topics. In fact, there are more than 3,500 different topics sections in the store!
Advertisement
Powell's puts its new and used books on the same shelves, which is a unique method that makes it even easier to find what you're looking for.
No worries! There are information stations sprinkled all throughout this vast bookstore, with knowledgeable, book-loving employees who will point you in the right direction, and even give you their own personal recommendations.
Powell's has the most comprehensive children's section of any bookstore. From baby board books to chapter books for early and middle readers, your little book lover is certain to find plenty to choose from on these shelves.
Not sure what to read? Visit the main floor for book recommendations...
You'll find the Powell's Books flagship store at 1005 West Burnside Street, Portland, OR, 97209.
Powell’s is a Portland institution! To learn more about the store, visit its website, and find out what events are happening there on its Facebook page. Have you visited Powell’s Books? Tell us your favorite thing about this humongous store.
