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News Mon Jul 27 2009
Prairie Avenue Bookshop to Close
Blair Kamin reports in the Tribune that Prairie Avenue Bookshop, purveyors of architecture related literature, will close on September 1st unless a buyer for the shop can be found. According to Kamin's article, the owners are blaming the 10.25% sales tax for contributing to their declining sales. Says owner Wilbert Hasbrouck: "People would come to the bookshop with their notepad, make notes of what they wanted and then go buy it somewhere else." But Kamin raises another question, crucial to the potential success of this and other independent shops like it: Can they survive in the digital age? Says Matt Stromberg of William Stout Architectural Books in San Francisco: "Fifty years ago, you couldn't find normal architectural books anywhere. Now you can find them everywhere--for a discount. ... Why would you buy that $200 book from us when you could get it almost 40 percent off, free shipping and no tax?"
Prarie Avenue Bookshop is located at 418 S. Wabash St. Visit them while you still can.
