NYC Bookstores

Here's my list of the Top 10 Bookstores in New York City for books on architecture and urbanism. The list includes a web page link (if available), address (all shops in Manhattan, unless noted otherwise), description, and one or more "finds" made at each. I'll admit my tastes veer to the used and the cozy, two qualities that bookstores definitely shouldn't be afraid of.

At bottom is a list of all the independent, non-antiquarian, non-collegiate, non-specialized (cookbooks, children's books, travel, etc.) bookstores in NYC that I know of (though I've yet to visit them all...yet), as I assume no one needs help in finding or learning about chain bookstores. I hope this list is helpful for those living in and/or visiting the city. I'll try to update it as needed, and please comment or e-mail if you notice omissions or errors.

Created 2007.11.02
Updated 2017.07.17 with "tied-for-11th" additions of Molasses Books and Topos Bookstore Cafe.

THE TOP 10:

1. McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince Street (between Lafayette and Mulberry): This two-story space with cafe in Soho/Nolita has an excellent selection of architecture books that has gotten bigger and better, carrying titles by publishers not found in other bookstores; likewise for its selection of periodicals on architecture. I'm looking forward to their expansion into Williamsburg, set for fall 2015. (Find: Translation from Drawing to Building by Robin Evans)
2. Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway (at 12th Street): No surprise here, as it would be difficult for the store with a self-proclaimed 8 miles of books not to have a great selection of architecture books, not to mention good selections of books on landscape architecture and urbanism. Most helpful is their website search, which allows new and used books alike to be researched before wading through the many shelves of architecture books. (Finds: Good City Form by Kevin Lynch, File Under Architecture by Herbert Muschamp)
3. Kinokuniya Bookstore, 1073 Sixth Avenue (between 40th and 41st Streets): The Japanese bookstore's new location across from Bryant Park is a three-story space with a large selection of Japanese and English-language books, magazines, as well as Japanese tchotchkies and a cafe. The architecture selection is solid with hard to find titles from Japan alongside domestic and European releases. (Find: Casa Brutus)
4. MoMA Design and Book Store, Midtown: 11 West 53rd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), Soho: 81 Spring Street (at Crosby Street): It would be surprising if MoMA didn't have a quality choice of books on architecture; unfortunately the best selection isn't at Spring Street, which removed many of its bookshelves ca. 2015, or the 53rd Street storefront, but on the second floor mezzanine inside the museum, where a $25 fee gains you admission (free admission is on Fridays after 4pm). (Find: AMP Arquitectos monograph)
5. The Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place (at First Place): This small gift shop features merchandise related to the museum, but also a good selection of architecture books ranging "from the theoretical to the aesthetic, of interest to everyone from the novice to the connoisseur." Admission to the museum is not necessary for a visit to the gift shop. (Find: a civil engineering guide to NYC)
6. Spoonbill and Sugartown, Booksellers, 218 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn (at 5th Street): While the used books in this Williamsburg shop can be a bit overpriced, especially when it comes to illustrated books, the selection can be really good. Perhaps this level of quality stems from the people that frequent the shop and bring in books, but some of it can be attributed to the book buyers; I brought in some books to sell once (some decent books, from what I recall), but they turned them all down. (Find: Design with Nature, 1st edition, by Ian McHarg)
7. Book Culture, 536 West 112th St. (1/2 block east of Broadway): Located close to Columbia University, this two-story store naturally caters to academia (meaning the best time NOT to go is the start of terms when the store is turned upside down to cater to students and professors), though it carries a really good selection of new titles on architecture and urbanism, with many remainders at low prices and the occasional used gem. (Find: Production of Space by Henri Lefebvre)
8. Mercer Street Books, 206 Mercer Street (between Bleecker and Houston): While the architecture section of this Greenwich Village used bookstore has steadily dwindled over the years, some top-notch titles can still be found, perhaps stemming from the architects that live or work in the area. For me, a trip to this store also means a visit to the nearby Housing Works Bookstore, a great place to browse and have a cup of coffee. (Find: Wrapper: 40 Possible City Surfaces for the Museum of Jurassic Technology by Robert Mangurian and Mary Ann Ray)
9. Mast Books, 66 Avenue A (between 4th and 5th Streets): This small store has a tiny selection of books on architecture and design (they have a larger selection of art books), but what they have is very well curated, especially for a used bookstore. Books lean toward academic titles, though coffee table books are also in abundance. (Find: Alvar Aalto: A Critical Study by Malcolm Quantrill, Alvar Aalto by Karl Fleig)
10. East Village Books, 101 St. Mark's Place (at Avenue A): This used bookstore obviously located in the East Village is a great spot for academic titles, probably due to the proximity of The Cooper Union, NYU and The New School. They don't have a lot of architecture titles, but what they have had on previous visits was pretty solid. I've yet to buy any architecture books here though, since their prices for illustrated books are pretty high.

Tied for 11 (while these don't have "top-10"-worthy architecture selections, they excel as places to make "finds" in other subjects or just hang out):

• Argosy Book Store, 116 East 59th Street (Between Park Avenue and Lexington)
• The Book Cellar, 1465 York Avenue (at 78th Street)
• BookThugNation, 100 North 3rd Street, Brooklyn (between Berry and Wythe Streets)
• Housing Works Bookstore, 126 Crosby Street (1/2 block south of Houston)
• Molasses Books, 770 Hart Street, Brooklyn
• Topos Bookstore Cafe, 788 Woodward Avenue, Ridgewood, Queens
• Westsider Rare and Used Books, 2246 Broadway (between 80th and 81st Streets)

THE FULL LIST (NEW: # in parentheses is approximate linear feet of books devoted to architecture and urbanism, a work in progress. Also I've added a designation for what each store sells: NEW, USED, RARE, etc.):

• 192 Books (4), 192 Tenth Avenue (at 21st Street) – NEW
• Amazon Books (0.5): 10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor – NEW
• ARTBOOK @ MoMA PS1 (4): 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City – NEW
• Argosy Book Store (24), 116 East 59th Street (Between Park Avenue and Lexington) – USED/RARE
• Astoria Bookshop (3), 31-29 31st Street, Astoria, Queens – NEW
• Bluestockings Books (#TBD), 172 Allen Street (between Stanton and Rivington) – NEW
• bookbook (3), 266 Bleecker Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) – NEW/REMAINDER
• The Book Cellar (3), 1465 York Avenue (at 78th Street) – USED
• Book Culture (60), 536 West 112th Street (1/2 block east of Broadway) – NEW/USED
• Book Culture on Columbus (#TBD), 450 Columbus Avenue (between 81st and 82nd Streets) – NEW
• Bookmarc (#TBD), 400 Bleecker Street (at West 11th Street) – NEW
• Book-Off (5), 49 West 45th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) – USED
• Books Are Magic (1), 225 Smith Street, Brooklyn (at Butler Street) – NEW
• BookThugNation (6), 100 North 3rd Street, Brooklyn (between Berry and Wythe Streets) – USED
• clic Bookstore and Gallery (#TBD), 255 Centre Street (at Broome Street) – NEW
• Community Bookstore (4), 143 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn (between Carroll Street and Garfield Place) – NEW
• The Corner Bookstore (#TBD), 1313 Madison Avenue (between 92nd and 93rd Streets) – NEW
• Dashwood Books (#TBD), 33 Bond Street (between Lafayette and Bowery Streets) – NEW
• East Village Books (8), 101 St. Mark's Place (at Avenue A) – USED
• Every Thing Goes Book Cafe and Neighborhood Stage (#TBD), 208 Bay Street, Staten Island – USED
• Freebird Books (1), 123 Columbia Street, Brooklyn – NEW/USED
• Greenlight Bookstore (#TBD), 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn (at South Portland) – NEW
• Guggenheim Store (4), 1071 Fifth Avenue (between 88th and 89th Streets) – NEW
• Housing Works Bookstore (6), 126 Crosby Street (1/2 block south of Houston) – USED
• Human Relations Books (#TBD), 1067 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn – USED
• Kinokuniya Bookstore (60), 1073 Sixth Avenue (between 40th and 41st Streets) – NEW
• Mast Books (5), 66 Avenue A (between 4th and 5th Streets) – USED
• Mercer Street Books (12), 206 Mercer Street (between Bleecker and Houston) – USED
• McNally Jackson Books (72), 52 Prince Street (between Lafayette and Mulberry) – NEW
• Molasses Books (4), 770 Hart Street, Brooklyn – USED
• MoMA Design and Book Store (#TBD), Midtown: 11 West 53rd Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), Soho: 81 Spring Street (at Crosby Street) – NEW
• Morgan Shop, The (#TBD): 225 Madison Avenue (at 36th Street) – NEW
• New Museum Store (#TBD): 235 Bowery (at Prince Street) – NEW
• Posman Books (#TBD), two locations: Chelsea Market, Rockefeller Center – NEW
• Potterton Books (#TBD), New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Avenue, Suite 431 (between 32nd and 33rd Streets) – NEW
• Powerhouse Archway (#TBD), 37 Main Street, Brooklyn (at Water Street) – NEW
• Printed Matter (#TBD), 231 11th Avenue (between 25th and 26th Streets) – NEW
• Revolution Books (#TBD), 437 Malcolm X Boulevard/Lenox Avenue (at 132nd Street) – NEW/USED
• Rizzoli Bookstore (75), 1133 Broadway (at 26th Street) – NEW
• Shakespeare and Co. Booksellers (#TBD), 939 Lexington Avenue (between 68th and 69th Streets) – NEW
• The Skyscraper Museum (40), 39 Battery Place (at First Place) – NEW
• Spoonbill and Sugartown, Booksellers (36), 218 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn (at 5th Street)
• Strand Bookstore (400), 828 Broadway (at 12th Street) – NEW/USED/RARE
• Symposia Bookstore (#TBD), 510 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ – USED
• Taschen Store (#TBD), 107 Greene Street (between Prince and Spring Streets) – NEW
• Terrace Books (0), 242 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn – NEW, USED
• Three Lives and Company (#TBD), 154 West 10th Street (at Waverly Place) – NEW
• Topos Bookstore Cafe (3), 788 Woodward Avenue, Ridgewood, Queens – USED
• Unnameable Books (#TBD), 600 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn (at St. Marks) – USED
• Unoppressive, Non-Imperialist Bargain Books (3), 34 Carmine Street (between Bedford and Bleecker Streets) – REMAINDER
• Ursus Books and Prints (#TBD), 981 Madison Avenue (at 76th Street) – RARE
• Usagi (5), 163 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn – NEW
• Westsider Rare and Used Books (9), 2246 Broadway (between 80th and 81st Streets) – USED
• Whitney Museum Shop (8): 99 Gansevoort Street – NEW
• Word Books (#TBD), 126 Franklin Street, Brooklyn (at Milton Street) – NEW