Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Last Bookstore - Los Angeles (Downtown)

The Last Bookstore - Los Angeles (Downtown) 1

After a quick snack at Sarita's Pupuseria Salvadorean Food - Los Angeles and quick snaps around Grand Central Market, we walked over a few blocks to The Last Bookstore for some more pictures. Specifically upstairs, where there were several book sculptures that I'd been wanting to photograph.

The Last Bookstore is huge, with aisles of new and used books, and records. While it's no Powell's City of Books - Portland - Oregon, it's the largest and nicest bookstore I've encountered in my years in SoCal.

Love the antique-looking globe and chair. You can see a hint of the records area in the back.

The Last Bookstore - Los Angeles (Downtown) 2

The stage, for book readings and whatnot.

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Going upstairs, you'll immediately see this desk and flying typewriter.

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And flying books. Doesn't it look like something straight out of Harry Potter?

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To the left is a balcony overlooking the first floor.

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What a view!

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The first book sculpture I wanted to see.

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Of course, we had to take pictures through the peep hole.

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And this tunnel of books!

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Pretty awesome!

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Look in the other direction, on the left against the wall, do you see the thick metal door?

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It leads to the science fiction room.

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And the best part of the second floor, all books are $1 each!

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Going further in, the pages look like a spider. Creepy.

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The books on the second floor take some digging to find what you're looking for since they're haphazardly placed.

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Or arranged by color.

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Which is great for fun photos, but not so great if you're looking for anything in particular. But the books are all $1, so can't complain!

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Browsing will have to be saved for another day. After a few shots around The Last Bookstore, it was time to go.

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Our next destination was Angel's Knoll. You can see the Angel's Flight railway heading up or down the hill.

Angel's Knoll and Angel's Flight Railway - Los Angeles (Downtown) 1

The little park is overshadowed by the California Plaza buildings.

Angel's Knoll and Angel's Flight Railway - Los Angeles (Downtown) 2

Can you guess why we're headed to this park for more pictures?

Hint: Significant scenes of this movie take place in this park. If I get more specific about the park, you'd know for sure.

The Last Bookstore
453 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-488-0599
Monday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Tuesday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today,
3 years ago today, Yoshida Restaurant and Sushi Bar - San Marino.
4 years ago today, Strawberry Lemonade.
5 years ago today, Salsa Verde with Roasted Tomatillos.
6 years ago today, Bulgogi and Kalbi (Korean Barbecued Beef and Short Ribs).

5 comments:

  1. So cool! I've been wanting to check that place out, but still haven't

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an awesome bookstore! I will have to make a future visit next time I'm up in the area! I love how whimsical and clever their displays are! A booklovers dream!

    ReplyDelete
  3. GP,
    I had it on my to do list for quite a while before I got around to it too.

    CC,
    The displays are the best part! I love how playful they are with arrangements.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I tried and tried to leave a comment the other day, but it must be something weird with the browser I was using (icky IE). What a cool place to visit -- definitely worth your time! And those way fun sculptures.

    So nice that you already have figs to pick. My aunt's figs were just tiny little green nubs when I saw them last month.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nikki,
    IE! Who still uses that?! :P Sometimes Blogger acts up and doesn't let people comment or eats up comments, so it might be that too? My figs were just green nubs last month too, but they've been going gangbusters now.

    ReplyDelete

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