{"id":189,"date":"2010-02-12T08:10:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-12T08:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbicmsblog.reedbusiness.com\/elogic_660000266\/2010\/02\/12\/a-bookstore-photo-tour-the-midtown-scholar\/"},"modified":"2010-02-12T08:10:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-12T08:10:00","slug":"a-bookstore-photo-tour-the-midtown-scholar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=189","title":{"rendered":"A Bookstore Photo Tour: The Midtown Scholar"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I was growing up\u00a0in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, there were few independent bookstores to speak of. The term “independent bookstore” was, in fact, a complete unknown to me until I became an undergraduate at Smith College, where the surrounding town of Northampton taught me to value locally owned\u00a0independent businesses of all stripes \u2014 bookstores included.
\nDuring a trip home at Thanksgiving, I was pleased to see that a few of my favorite independent stores in Central Pa. are still alive and well, and that Harrisburg has recently added another indie bookstore jewel to its crown. The Midtown Scholar<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0a cavernous space filled with some 100,000+\u00a0second-hand, out-of-print, and scholarly\u00a0and books.\u00a0As if that’s not large enough to be impressive,\u00a0consider\u00a0that if you combine the books housed on this store’s six levels of retail space with what’s also stored in its warehouses, you’re looking at 1 million volumes, all of them\u00a0listed in the\u00a0store’s computerized database, making\u00a0this “the largest used book collection between New York City and Chicago,” according to one recent article<\/a>. (Yowza!)
\nDid I mention they also serve a mean cup of coffee<\/a>, and host music concerts, author readings, political debates, book clubs, story times, art exhibits\u00a0and more<\/a>?
\nMy parents, Gareth, and I spent a blissful morning perusing the shelves and admiring the physical space of this magnificent\u00a0store, and by some luck wound up chatting with Eric Papenfuse, who co-owns the store with his wife Catherine Lawrence. While their business isn’t new (they operated The Midtown\u00a0Scholar in a smaller nearby building before renovating this space and moving it here), they are seeing a wealth of new readers come through the door of this, its larger, newly renovated home. Having grown weary of tales about indies having to downsize or (worse) close their doors completely, it was invigorating to witness the success of this business. I’m overjoyed that their online bookselling efforts have been lucrative enough to fund the creation and operation of such a princely brick-and-mortar store. (Would that this was the case for everyone.)
\nTake a look at the photos below\u00a0to see why\u00a0The Midtown Scholar\u00a0is worth adding to your list of “must-see bookstores” and make plans to pay them a visit!
\nCan you tell from the marquee that this building\u00a0was once a theater?
\n
\nI love the former ticket booth out front.
\n
\nOne of the\u00a0very inviting window displays…
\n
\nA beautiful stained glass window mounted inside — the first hint that you’ll want to pay close attention to the architectural details in this place.
\n
\nTa da! You walk in the front door, note the Famous Reading Caf\u00e9<\/a> on your right and\u00a0step into this bright and airy space.
\n
\nLook again at the photo above. See that mezzanine level ahead of you, up the black steps? The photo below was taken from that level, looking back toward the front entrance of the store.
\n
\nTurn around again. The mezzanine level you’re standing on right now looks like this, below… And it’s jam-packed with books on\u00a0art and photography.\u00a0Seriously. That whole level. Nothing but art and photography. Be still my beating heart.
\n
\nAt the back of the mezzanine\u00a0stands this\u00a0doorway to a room full of recently received titles, not yet priced\u00a0or sorted for sale, above\u00a0which hangs this fantastic<\/em> window.
\n
\nEventually this room looks to become the home of Rare Books and Pennsylvaniana (love this term), but the day we were there it was\u00a0a delicous hodge-podge of titles on every imaginable subject, newly unpacked and awaiting the eyes of eager readers… I had so much fun exploring the shelves of this room!
\n
\nI resisted the urge to climb that ladder and peruse the higher shelves, but I was sorely tempted.
\n
\nWalking now along the table-lined\u00a0balcony, toward the front of the store and the Yellow Wall Gallery…
\n
\nPeering down from the table-lined balcony gives you a terrific view of the low stage on the first floor, which is flanked by the children’s section, and the terrific mural that fills the wall above it.
\n
\nThe\u00a0antique staircase on the right was reportedly<\/a> salvaged from a 19th-century Baltimore hotel.
\n
\nNow here we are in the upper lounge, called the “Yellow Wall Gallery” for, um, obvious reasons.
\n
\nLooking down on the store from that level… You can’t see it, but (just to help re-orient you) the entrance to the store is almost directly below me at this point.
\n
\nThe Yellow Wall gallery is home to rotating art exhibits, and wow, is it ever cozy! This is the left-hand side of the space…
\n
\n
\nand this is the right. Can you imagine a more lovely space for small readings?
\n
\nJust to the left of\u00a0the staged\u00a0reading space above\u00a0is a door to an actual outside balcony. At a bookstore. A balcony! Outside! I love this!
\n
\nOn the balcony, looking left.
\n
\nOn the balcony, looking right. Across the street is the wonderful old Broad Street Market<\/a>\u00a0(founded 1860), which is still a working farmer’s market and a place my parents and I frequented in my youth. The green dome in the distance is the state Capitol Building<\/a> (another must-see stop on your Harrisburg\u00a0tour).
\n
\nNow we’re back inside, at the top of the\u00a0antique staircase that leads up to the gallery. That’s owner Eric Papenfuse in the red sweatshirt below, gesturing\u00a0about the enormity of his bookstore.
\n
\nLook to the left of Eric in that photo above. See the sign for the lower level\u00a0that\u00a0appears there?\u00a0Here’s a closer view of it and the room to which it’s pointing,\u00a0below. As you might be able to tell, this room (of which you’re only seeing about half in this photo) is FILLED with books on the subject of American History. And still more books that have yet to be sorted and shelved. And cases filled with recently arrived remainders, sorted by publisher. Books, books, books, as far as the eye can see.
\n
\nAnd you’re not done yet. Below\u00a0the American History\u00a0room, is yet another \u2014 this one filled with scholarly books on every imaginable subject. I could spend months in this store and still find myself making a magical new discovery every hour or two. If not more\u00a0often than that.
\n
\nTalking with Eric about the enormity of this store and speculating about its future success, he mentioned that what he and Catherine would really like to see are other bookstores opening in the area. They’d like to see Harrisburg become a mecca for readers and book collectors\u00a0\u2014 an admirable goal if ever I’ve heard one.\u00a0Telling Eric about my own adventures in bookselling and Gareth’s illustration career,\u00a0he enthusiastically\u00a0suggested that\u00a0we open a children’s bookstore right next door. (See the\u00a0yellow building on the right, below).
\n
\nI chuckled amiably at\u00a0Eric’s suggestion, thinking (for the umpteenth time) that I’d never be crazy\/gutsy enough to\u00a0own my own store, until<\/em>\u00a0he mentioned what the rent would be\u00a0for both the\u00a0first floor retail space and the newly renovated studio above it.\u00a0The figure\u00a0was\u00a0one-third what Gareth and I currently pay\u00a0in rent\u00a0for our small Boston-area apartment. (Insert sound of my jaw hitting the floor here.) For one brief, shining moment the idea of owning my own bookstore\u00a0didn’t seem quite\u00a0as crazy any more… Especially not when I’d have such incredibly cool neighbors.
\nBut, alas. The ownership plan is just not in the cards for me.\u00a0If you’re interested, though, you should call the store and let Eric or Catherine know! In the meantime, read the mission<\/a> of the Midtown Scholar to understand why every town should want to have and support businesses like this, and pay this terrific store a visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I was growing up in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, there were few independent bookstores to speak of. The term “independent bookstore” was, in fact, a complete unknown to me until I became an undergraduate at Smith College, where the surrounding town of Northampton taught me to value locally owned independent businesses of all stripes — bookstores […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}