Travelers to LA will enjoy a trip to the The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles. Owner Josh Spencer created this magical, 22,000 sq. ft. space in old bank building, complete with marble columns and giant doors. The store features used books, a record shop, and a coffee bar. The name “Last Bookstore” was chosen with irony, but seems more appropriate with each passing day as physical bookstores die out like dinosaurs… For those of us who still like to hold an actual book in our hands, this is the place to feel at home.
You can sell or trade old books here, pick up new ones, grab a record or a cup of joe, and attend a myriad of events including readings, book signings, writer’s groups, open mic nights and concerts. It’s a true community hot spot, bringing like-minded literary folks together to create, inspire and share in an open and welcoming space.
Flying Typewriter by Jena Priebe
The most magical section of the bookstore is the upstairs “Labyrinth”. Guests browse through a massive, chaotic, maze-like space housing more than 100,000 used books. It features doors that lead nowhere, time-travel portholes looking into an artist’s rendition of outer space, and “secret passage ways” leading into hidden book rooms. Walking through the space feels like a cross between Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter, and you will find many tourists snapping photos.
“Diagnosis Bookcase” by David LoveJoy
Flying Typewriter by Jena Priebe
Further on, there are tunnels built from books, hidden side rooms, freestanding sculptures, and mobiles. This is the Spring Arts Collective, an eclectic space hosting shows throughout the year with outside artists as well as the resident collective artists.
The Last Bookstore can be found at:
453 S Spring St., Downtown Los Angeles
(213) 488-0599
Hours:
Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m – 10 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sundays, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Lesley was brought up in Canada and has had the great fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe and the U.S. Despite that fact that models are supposed to eat as little as possible, she couldn’t help but enjoy the delectables offered to her in Paris, Milan, Hamburg, Zurich, Tokyo and New York City.
After being cast in a touring play with Mickey Rooney that ended their engagement at the Pantages theater, the lure of Los Angeles was too much to resist. She moved here and has since been a model agent and a commercial agent. Her true passion is photography and she now spends her days bringing out the best of everyone who finds themselves in front of her lens.
