Neek sez:
What? My metro card needed to be replaced now? Why? But the train’s leaving! Oh Brother! Getting my metro card updated was a bit of a hassle but it was finally done and we were off to downtown Los Angeles.
As soon as we got off Pershing Square station, we headed toward The Last Bookstore.
Located at the corner of Spring and 5th Street, The Last Bookstore is probably not the last but it is California’s largest used, new book and record shop.
It also houses an artist collective on the 2nd floor. The place was busy and thriving.
Lex and I had a fun time walking through the labyrinth and book tunnel. Even though Lex couldn’t find his book, we had a great time searching for it.
Every corner of the bookstore had something interesting to see in terms of artwork, hangings, whimsical lamps, and strange metal sculptures.
The Rare Book Annex was inspiring with all of its creative drawings and paintings on the wall. The fascinating books weren’t too bad either!
I personally loved the vinyl section and found some crazy, “what were they thinking of?” type of album covers.
As more brick and mortar bookstores are fast disappearing, it’s comforting to hope that this one will last and not go extinct (at least for now) like the woolly mammoth hanging from the 2nd floor.
Lex sez:
Traveling on the Metro Red Line is one of the only ways to get around Los Angeles completely underground. We started off at the North Hollywood station.
My card was current but Neek needed to get hers replaced.
While we were waiting for the train to arrive, we checked out the tableaux tribute to Nudie Cohen, who used to have a famous store nearby on Lankershim Boulevard where he sold western clothing. Then the train arrived and about twenty minutes later we reached our destination, Pershing Square station.
Just a couple blocks from the station, we walked into The Last Bookstore. What an amazing place!
22,000 square feet filled with books, vinyl records and awesome art! I was looking for a rare book so we began our search at the Rare Book Annex on the first floor. There were no political books there, which was the subject matter of the book I was looking for, but it was fun checking out the dazzling display of paintings and coffee table books there (the David Bowie one was particularly impressive to me!) and sharing the space with so many other people happy to be there.
Upstairs was also a really cool experience. There is a literal labyrinth and tunnel of books to walk through.
There is an entire room of books upstairs, the horror vault, which used to be a bank vault. There were even books on politics and conspiracies featured too. Even if you can’t find the exact book you’re looking for, with over 250,000 new and used books on sale in such a beautifully arranged space, The Last Bookstore is a place I wouldn’t mind getting lost in any day!
Lex and Neek 