Acres of Books was a large independent bookstore in downtown Long Beach,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1934 to 2008.

Background

The business was founded in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, in 1927 by Bertrand Smith. In 1934 Smith moved to California and established the store in Long Beach; he moved to the current address at 240 Long Beach Boulevard in 1960. Acres of Books was the largest and oldest family-owned second-hand bookstore in California, claiming to have in stock over one million books. In 1959 Smith gave to the people of Long Beach a collection of rare books, some dating back to the 15th century. Included in the collection is a two volume facsimile of the

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the " Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed ...

, all of which is housed as part of the Loraine and Earl Burns Miller Special Collections Room at the main branch of the Long Beach public library. In 1990 Acres of Books was designated a cultural heritage landmark by the City of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Notable customers

In its long history, Acres of Books' customers included

Jack Vance John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names. ...

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...

, Stan Freberg,

Gary Owens Gary Owens (born Gary Bernard Altman; May 10, 1934 – February 12, 2015) was an American radio announcer, personality, disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offered deadpan recitations of total nonsense, wh ...

, James Hilton,

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict ('' Forge of God'' books), parallel universes ('' The Way'' series), c ...

Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels '' Last Call'' and ''Declare''. His 1987 novel ''On Stranger Tide ...

, Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, Paul Schrader, Fran Lebowitz, Robert Easton (actor), Robert Easton, Eli Wallach, Diane Keaton, Larry McMurtry, and, most notably, Ray Bradbury, who immortalized the store in his essay "I Sing the Bookstore Eclectic". Robert Bloch name-checked the store in his 1978 novel ''Strange Eons''.

Closure and redevelopment

Acres of Books closed on October 18, 2008. The owners sold the property to the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency for $2.8 million. Subsequently, the Redevelopment Agency was dissolved by order of Governor Jerry Brown. There was at one time a proposal to develop the site as an art exchange, but nothing came of that. As of late 2023, the premises were neatly maintained but displayed no commercial signage.

References

{{coord, 33.7700, -118.1890, type:landmark_region:US-CA, display=title Bookstores in California Independent bookstores of the United States Buildings and structures in Long Beach, California Retail buildings in California Companies based in Long Beach, California American companies established in 1927 Bookstores established in the 20th century Retail companies established in 1927 Retail companies disestablished in 2008 1927 establishments in Ohio 2008 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Landmarks in Long Beach, California

Background

Notable customers

Closure and redevelopment

See also

References