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For me, growing up in Ann Arbor, Border's was the locally owned, independent bookstore. Then one day in the 90s, living in Palo Alto, I read that a local, inde
by snewman 15y ago
For me, growing up in Ann Arbor, Border's was the locally owned, independent bookstore. Then one day in the 90s, living in Palo Alto, I read that a local, independent movie theater (the Varsity) was closing down to make room for -- wait for it -- a Borders. That was the first I knew they had become a chain.
A strange journey: from local indie, to indie killer, to dead.
- ccamrobertson 15y agoI'm really concerned about the Varsity now that Borders is going for good. I don't know whether the building has any historical protection, however, I wouldn't be surprised if it disappears given the suddenness of the Cal Ave tree snafu a couple of years back.
- donw 15y agoI remember that. For those that don't know, California Avenus is part of 'old' Palo Alto, and has a bunch of boutiques, restaurants, and cafes. It was lined with shade trees that had been there since the city had been founded, and was overall a very nice place to be. A few years back, the city decided to, uh, beautify the area by cutting down all the trees, and this happened almost overnight. The street now feels like a seedy part of LA, and is nowhere as nice a place to be, thanks to the local government. Off-topic, but there's a fantastic bagel shop near the corner of California and El Camino that I highly recommend.
- qohen 15y agoI thought that sounded familiar... http://www.paulgraham.com/californiaavenueoaks.html http://www.paulgraham.com/californiaavenueoaks.html
- gtani 15y agoOn topic, i think the Stanford U on-campus bookstore is the only good technical bookstore in the SF to Mountain View corridor now
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- tesseract 15y agoI would donate to a nonprofit if one were formed to buy out that particular location and continue operating it as a bookstore.