Strand Book Store Celebrates 96 Years And Re-Opens The Iconic Rare Book Room For The Weekend

Strand Book Store announces a weekend of celebration in honor of the store's 96th year.  

After more than three years, the store will re-open its third floor Rare Book Room to visitors. The space will be open June 24–26 from 10:00am–6:00pm, and will be occupied with bookseller recommendations made specially for the occasion plus all newly acquired rare book stock for purchase. On display will be a selection of artifacts from Strand's 96-year history as well. Saturday, June 24 at 2:00pm staff will present their own writings at a Bookseller Salon.
 
To help commemorate the special occasion, Strand has partnered with Curious Elixirs to create a secret elixir bar in the Rare Book Room and in-house coffee shop, Brooklyn Roasting Company, will provide coffee.
 
“I am incredibly proud of what the Strand has become, as well as where we are headed.” says Nancy Bass Wyden, the store's third generation owner. “To celebrate our anniversary, I thought it would be nice to focus on our history and the things that make Strand such a magical place—books and our booksellers.”
 
Visitors to the main store location (Broadway and 12th St) will have an opportunity to enter the “Filmed at Strand” sweepstakes, which takes customers on a journey around the store, highlighting famous film shoots that have taken place over the years. Prizes include gift cards from Strand and Brooklyn Roasting Company and a three-month subscription to the Curious Elixirs cocktail club.
 
Strand Book Store's flagship at 828 Broadway is open 10:00am–8:00pm, The Strand Upper West Side at 450 Columbus Ave. is open 10:00am–8:00pm, and the Central Park Kiosks at 5th Ave. and 61st St. are open 10:00am–6:00pm.
 
Strand Book Store was founded in 1927 on Fourth Avenue on what was then called “Book Row,” an area that covered six city blocks and housed forty-eight bookstores. Ben Bass was twenty-five years old when he began his modest used bookstore. He sought to create a place where books would be loved, and book lovers could congregate. He named Strand Book Store after the London street where avant-garde writers like once gathered. 96 years and 18 miles of books later, The Strand is still run by the Bass family and is home to four floors of more than 2.5 million used, new, and rare books, a wide array of bookish gifts and goods, and events held almost every night of the week. The store's locations are: the long-standing flagship at 828 Broadway, The Strand Upper West Side at 450 Columbus Ave., Central Park Kiosks at 5th Ave. and 61st St., and The Strand Bowery Bay Shops at LaGuardia Airport.