Powell's of Portland

Imagine a place that draws scores of people inside to linger on a sunny, bright holiday weekend in Portland. People sipping on a coffee with a book open in their laps, and wandering around in packs discussing political science and international travel.

The building has interconnected rooms of eclectic and well marked categories, and used book sets for sale, but mostly the books are new.  The rooms are color coded and themed, I'm sure to guide you towards the exit, although that was a bit too subtle for me.

On the walls are huge chalkboards listing local authors and their books and locations in the store, a list of Pulitzer Prize winners, and earthy, cerebral staff to help as directional guides and problem solvers. There are Powell's t-shirts for sale, mugs, backpacks and postcards.

On the shelves were staff recommended bookmarks, like a fancy wine store that offers helpful tips on picking a good vintage. 'This is a complex and fulfilling mystery, well written, and a thoroughly satisfying read.'  Pair it with a weekend at the beach, brie and water crackers.

This IKEA-esque store has rooms within rooms, some up 1/2 a flight or down a flight that you move through vaguely aware you have transitioned. There are main paths and shortcuts, but what we ended up doing is enjoy being carried along by the crowd that enjoyed being here as much as we did.

It was a joy to be in the children's section and watching them talking and tucked into corners with books spread out in front of them, covers open, and taking in the texture, scent and feel of them. I'm not a fan of ebooks. The adults were the ones with their iPhones out, trying to corral their group into an arranged rendezvous point. 'How about the coffee bar in 10?' 

I thought of my father and hoped for his books. I was told that two of his titles have resided here previously but they were currently out of stock. I was informed the Transportation section is in Building Two.  Building. Two.


At one point we spied a bathroom, and the conversation resembled a vacation abroad:  Hey! There's a bathroom. Want to go?  Maybe we'd better, just in case. Who knows when we'll have another chance.

There are benches along some aisles and circling the support beams and in corners where two bookcases meet. Everything is wood and everything was occupied, so I went on a brief quest to find a seat and ended up utterly lost in the Russian Language section. 

There's a gallery upstairs we didn't see, but there was a glorious pillar at the entrance of a stack of books with some of the world's most influential titles. The Mahabharata, Hamlet, War & Peace, Psalms, The Odyssey, The Whale (Moby Dick), Tao te Ching, and 1000 Nights.

Welcome to Powell's Books of Portland. Can't wait to return.

http://www.powells.com/citytour.html