The Globe Corner Bookstore was one of the largest travel book and map retailers in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. It was located at 90 Mount Auburn Street in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, near

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue (Boston), Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, C ...

. The store provided a full range of travel and outdoor recreation reference materials for a destination: guidebooks, maps, atlases, recreation guides, travel literature, nature guides, photography books, cookbooks, and language products. The company's original store, founded by Patrick Carrier, opened in 1982 in the historic

Old Corner Bookstore The Old Corner Bookstore is a historic commercial building located at 283 Washington Street at the corner of School Street in the historic core of Boston, Massachusetts. It was built in 1718 as a residence and apothecary shop, and first became ...

building in downtown Boston, a continuation of the Old Corner Bookstore rebranded to focus on travel products. Reflecting the shifting dynamics of Boston's retail districts, the company opened its Harvard Square store in 1988 and a location in Boston's

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

in 1993. The store launched its web site in the winter of 1995, the first comprehensive travel book site on the web. In 2007, it had over 100,000 pages. The Globe Corner Bookstore's Adventure Travel Lecture Series hosted

Jan Morris Catharine Jan MorrisJan Morris, Paul Clements, University of Wales Press, 2008, p. 7 (born James Humphry Morris; 2 October 192620 November 2020) was a Welsh historian, author and travel writer. She was known particularly for the '' Pax Brita ...

Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his ...

William Dalrymple William Benedict Hamilton-Dalrymple (born 20 March 1965) is a Delhi-based Scottish people, Scottish historian and art historian, as well as a curator, broadcaster and critic. He spends nine months of each year on his goat farm in India. He i ...

Bruce Chatwin Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storytelling, s ...

Eric Newby George Eric Newby (6 December 1919 – 20 October 2006) was an English travel writer. His works include '' A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush'', '' The Last Grain Race'' and '' A Small Place in Italy''. Early life Newby was born in Barnes, Lond ...

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux ( ; born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films ...

Roger Tory Peterson Roger Tory Peterson (August 28, 1908 – July 28, 1996) was an American natural history, naturalist, Conservationist (biology), conservationist, citizen scientist ornithology, ornithologist, artist and illustrator, educator, and a founder of th ...

Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, broadcaster, writer, and former diplomat and politician. He has taught at Harvard University and at Yale University. He currently teaches and co-directs the Brady-Jo ...

, and

David Allen Sibley David Allen Sibley (born October 22, 1961, in Plattsburgh, New York) is an American ornithologist. He is the author and illustrator of '' The Sibley Guide to Birds'', which rivals Roger Tory Peterson's as the most comprehensive guides for Nor ...

, and others. A combination of high rents and the declining fortunes of downtown Boston retail prompted the company to close the downtown branch in March 1997. The company sold its lease at

500 Boylston Street 500 Boylston Street is a 1.3-million square foot postmodern architecture, postmodern building located in the Back Bay, Boston, Back Bay section of Boston and part of the city's High Spine, completed in 1989. It is located next to the landmark Tr ...

in the Back Bay to Boston Private Bank in December 2000. In 2010, the store's owner put the remaining Cambridge store up for sale, citing personal health concerns—a diagnosis of a seizure disorder. After entertaining several bids, none were found to satisfactorily ensure continued operations of the store and its closing was announced. The Globe Corner Bookstores served its last bricks-and-mortar customer on July 4, 2011, having served over 2 million customers. The website and name were purchased by Brookline Booksmith of

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

in May 2012.

References

External links

Brookline Booksmith website
{{coord, 42, 22, 20.5, N, 71, 7, 11.5, W, region:US, display=title Independent bookstores of the United States 1982 establishments in Massachusetts Bookstores in Massachusetts Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts