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), and my brief description. 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 -- the few that remain, at least. 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 me if you notice omissions or errors.

First posted November 2, 2007
Updated May 24, 2021 (a little top-10 shuffling)

**Some bookstores are temporarily closed or only doing pickups due to COVID-19, so check their websites before visiting them in person.**
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. They opened a branch in Williamsburg, with an equally good selection of architecture books, in 2017.
  2. Rizzoli, 1133 Broadway (at 26th Street): The new location for Rizzoli, which was booted out of its old 57th Street townhouse, is almost grand and ornate enough to make one forget its previous lodgings. Architecture and other design books are in the back, where talks also take place. The selection, though all new, is deep, with titles here that I haven't seen at other stores in the city.
  3. 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. The best selection isn't at Spring Street, which removed many of its bookshelves ca. 2015, but at the newly expanded museum, where browsing the supersized gift shop doesn't require admission.
  4. Kinokuniya Bookstore, 1073 Sixth Avenue (between 40th and 41st Streets): The Japanese bookstore's 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.
  5. Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway (at 12th Street): No surprise here, as it would be difficult for the store with a self-proclaimed 18 miles of books not to have a great selection of architecture books, not to mention good selections of books on landscape architecture and urbanism. The pandemic has considerably downsized the selection of architecture books on their shelves, both in quality and quantity, leading me to knock the Strand down a few spots. Hopefully they will reverse that trend in the future.
  6. 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, but it's only $5 and worth going in to see the SOM-designed space as well as the current exhibitions.
  7. 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. Spoonbill Studio is the store's Bushwick outpost.
  8. 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. In 2017, Book Culture LIC opened, but its architecture section is close to non-existent; and at some point since then the main location cut its architecture and urban studies sections considerably, consolidating them into one.
  9. ARTBOOK @ MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City: MoMA PS1 has two bookstores, one located at the entrance and selling primarily magazines (some are architecture and many are hard to find), and one located inside the museum (therefore requiring admission) and selling books. Combined they add up to a bookstore with a very good selection of architecture books and periodicals.
  10. 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.
Eleven tied for 11 (While these don't have "top-10"-worthy architecture selections, they are bookstores I visit whenever nearby, and they excel as places to make "finds" in other subjects or just hang out.):

THE FULL LIST (Number in parentheses is approximate linear feet of books devoted to architecture and urbanism, a work in progress. At the end is a designation for what each store sells: NEW, RARE, REMAINDER, USED):
Header image is my photo of Van Alen Books (RIP) in 2013.
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