If you ask just about anyone who lives in New York City what is the most famous bookstore in Manhattan, undoubtedly that person will say … the Strand.

Opened on Fourth Avenue’s “Book Row,” the Strand started selling books to New Yorkers in 1927. Back then, Book Row covered six city blocks of 48 bookstores. 25-year-old Ben Bass, a reader and entrepreneur at heart, started the Strand with $300 dollars of his own and $300 dollars borrowed from a friend. Ben’s mission was to create a place for book lovers to gather. Named after the famous London street where writers once congregated, the Strand quickly became Greenwich Village’s beloved institution and the only survivor of Book Row’s colorful past in the present.

Today, the Strand houses over 2.5 million new, used and rare books, as well as literary gifts that would please the most discerning book lovers. The bookshop often hosts in-store author events featuring interesting and provocative personalities from Lin Manuel Miranda to Patti Smith and Ocean Vuong.

I’m so proud to present the latest episode of the Book Lovers Series highlighting New York City’s most treasured bookshop … the Strand.

The Strand
828 Broadway
New York, New York 10003