The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo by Johnnydeezwax (CC by SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena (695 East Colorado Boulevard), opened in 1894, is Southern California's oldest independent bookstore. Until the 1970s, it was the largest bookstore west of the Mississippi River.
The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles (453 South Spring Street), offering an inventory of some 250,000 books, boasts to be the largest bookstore in California. It opened in 2005.
Chevalier's Books, in Larchmont Village (126 North Larchmont Boulevard), is the oldest independent bookstore within the city of Los Angeles. The store opened in 1940.
UCLA Store Bookzone on the campus in Westwood is the nation’s largest independent university bookstore.
Once Upon a Time in Montrose (2207 Honolulu Avenue), opened in 1966, is reported by Publisher’s Weekly to be the oldest children’s bookstore in the nation.
Brodrick & Reilly, the first bookstore in Los Angeles, opened on Spring Street in 1871.
Remembering some late, great Los Angeles area bookstores:
Acres of Books, Long Beach (1934-2008)
California Map & Travel Center, Santa Monica (1999-2006)
Caravan Books, Downtown Los Angeles (1954-2018)
Bodhi Tree Bookstore, West Hollywood (1970-2011; online re-emergence pending)
Dawson's Books, Larchmont Village (1905-2010; once L.A.'s oldest bookstore)
Distant Lands, Pasadena (1989-2018)
Dutton's Books Beverly Hills (2004-2006)
Dutton's Books Burbank (1978-2005)
Dutton's Books North Hollywood (1960-2006)
Dutton’s Brentwood Books (1984-2008)
Geographia Map & Travel Book Store, Burbank (1986-2011)
Johnson's Bookshop, Mar Vista (1987-2019)
Midnight Special, Santa Monica (1970-2004)
Pickwick Bookshop, Hollywood (1938-1968)
