UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Powerhouse Books, a longtime independent New York bookseller and publisher, has planted its flag on the Upper West Side, betting the neighborhood's voracious readers will help fuel what its founder sees as a long-overdue resurgence of bookstores in Manhattan.
Powerhouse Books, which is known for its photography, art and design titles, has opened a sprawling new bookstore at the Shops at Columbus Circle in the former Amazon Books space on the third floor of the indoor shopping center.
The shop quietly opened in stages over the past several weeks, with the final section debuting this week, its owner told Patch.
Founder Daniel Power, who has been in publishing for more than 30 years, told Patch the book-selling industry was pushed out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn, but that slowly, the tides are turning.
"When I moved to New York in the late '80s, all the bookstores were in Manhattan," he said. "One by one...they're all gone. I've always thought Manhattan was ripe for a resurgence of bookshops."
While the company has traditionally catered to art book enthusiasts, the Upper West Side has prompted a broader approach.
The neighborhood's wide-ranging reading tastes have led the store to expand into genres it hadn't emphasized before, including parenting, business and self-help.
The store itself continues to evolve. Originally designed for Amazon's vertical shelving system, the space is being reimagined with a new art gallery, updated finishes and additional seating, including repurposed church pews where visitors can relax with a book.
Powerhouse also plans to host regular author talks and literary events. Among the first is a July 20 appearance by celebrity photographer Timothy White, who will discuss his forthcoming memoir.
Power said the store also hopes to become a resource tailored to neighborhood readers.
"We'll be taking special orders, requests, suggestions," he said. "We want to stock the books that people want."
For Power, the goal is simple: create a place where people can browse, linger and discover something unexpected.
"There's no better place to kill time than a bookstore," Power said.
Know of a business opening or closing on the Upper West Side? Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.
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