Tattered Cover is a

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...

chain in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. It is one of the largest

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Tattered Cover is open seven days a week at all branches, hosts prominent book signings, and is known for its customer service. Together, the stores maintain an inventory of over half a million books. Its LoDo store houses an events space that can seat over 250 persons, while its East Colfax store can seat around 100.

History

Tattered Cover Book Store - Flickr - brewbooks (1)

Ground Floor Coffee Shop at The Tattered Cover Book Store Cherry Creek Denver CO 2006

Tattered Cover opened in 1971 in the Cherry Creek district of Denver as a small bookshop. The original owner was Stephen Cogil, an

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

native who became a Bookstore Consultant. It was purchased in 1974 by

Joyce Meskis Joyce Meskis (March 12, 1942 – December 22, 2022) was an American bookseller. She owned the Tattered Cover bookstore from 1974. In 1995, she won a PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award. Life Meskis studied at Purdue University. In 1974 ...

. Between 1973 and 1983, it expanded seven different times, and in 1986 it moved into and consolidated at a new location in the Cherry Creek neighborhood, which remained open for over 20 years. A second location was renovated and opened for business in 1994 in Denver's historic LoDo (lower downtown) district. In 1995, the Fourth Story Restaurant & Bar opened at the Cherry Creek location. In November 2004, a third location opened in

Highlands Ranch Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...

. In April 2015, that store relocated to Littleton. The Cherry Creek location closed in June 2006 and moved to the newly renovated, long-defunct Lowenstein Theatre on Elizabeth Street at East Colfax Avenue in Denver. The Fourth Story restaurant did not move to that location and closed in 2006. Like many independent bookstores, Tattered Cover is a member of the

American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...

, and Meskis served as president of that organization in the early 1990s. Meskis is a former board member of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and is also the recipient of The William J. Brennan, Jr. Award from The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, the PEN/Newman First Amendment Award, the Brandeis Award from

Privacy International Privacy International (PI) is a UK-based registered charity that defends and promotes the right to privacy across the world. First formed in 1990, registered as a non-profit company in 2002 and as a charity in 2012, PI is based in London. Its cu ...

, and the American Library Association's John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for Intellectual Freedom. Meskis announced the sale of the bookstore in 2015 to Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan. In December 2020, Vlahos and Gilligan sold the company to a group of investors led by David Back and Kwame Spearman.

Colorado Supreme Court case

In 2000 the store resisted, on

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

grounds, a search warrant for records related to purchases made by a customer suspected of illegally manufacturing

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Meth ...

. The case made national news, and was eventually decided in the store's favor by the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. Powers and duties Appellate jurisdiction Discretionary appeals The Court ...

. Officers were attempting to establish a connection between the suspect and books they found on how to manufacture the drug. The purchase in question was later revealed to be of a book on

Japanese calligraphy also called is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Written Japanese was originally based on Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intri ...

References

External links

* {{Denver Independent bookstores of the United States Landmarks in Colorado Companies based in Denver 1971 establishments in Colorado Privately held companies based in Colorado Retail companies established in 1971 American companies established in 1971