| Recently I visited a super book store with my | | | | These ladders would not meet current safety |
| grandson. He is just starting on chapter books and | | | | standards, but I never heard of anyone getting hurt |
| enjoys browsing around the children's section looking | | | | at Leary's. Browsing was encouraged. Store personnel |
| for his next book to read. He wanted to know if | | | | never bothered the customers, but were available to |
| they had book stores like the one we were in when | | | | help when asked. |
| I was young. You know, the olden days. This | | | | A rickety old elevator was at the back of the store. |
| question took me back to a wonderful book store in | | | | It seemed to be about a quarter the size of the |
| Philadelphia known as Leary's. | | | | ones in Gimbel's, not much larger than a phone booth |
| The several story narrow building with its slanted | | | | and resembled a cage. In reality it probably held 8 or |
| roof was in the heart of the shopping area of center | | | | 10 people. The jerky car made its way, very slowly, |
| city, right behind the famous Gimbel's department | | | | to each of the book-laden floors. So the elevator |
| store on South 9th off Market Street. A cobble | | | | was part of the charm of the place. |
| stone alley separated the huge building from the tiny | | | | The store's signage was translated to book covers |
| book store, which was actually not so small - 20,000 | | | | and bookmarks. The now-famous Leary's trademark |
| square feet and contained half-a-million books. | | | | was a line version of the 1850 painting of "The |
| Outside there were shelves of books and other | | | | Bookworm." It was a main standing on a ladder in |
| displays were people lingered to peruse books on all | | | | front of book shelves reading a book, with one in his |
| kinds of subjects before entering the store itself. | | | | other hand, another under his arm and one between |
| Upon entering, I recall to this day, there was the | | | | his knees. The fellow was so engrossed in what he |
| sweet-musty smell of old books, something modern | | | | was reading that he was oblivious to the world |
| book stores lack. Pity. But Leary's had a memorable | | | | around him. This image said everything one needed |
| visual aspect to it as well. The walls of shelves loaded | | | | to know about Leary's Book Store. |
| with books on every imaginable subject displayed a | | | | As downtown changed and shopping moved to the |
| patchwork design that changed every time I entered | | | | suburbs, traffic and ultimately sales feel off; so the |
| the store. Since the store specialized in old books, | | | | hundred year old Leary's suffered the fate of other |
| many from estates, volumes of old books were | | | | retailers. In 1969, the country's oldest book store |
| frequently replaced with newer collections thus | | | | closed its doors forever. But Philadelphians will never |
| making the landscape ever-changing. | | | | forget the trips to this wonderful old book emporium |
| There were high ladders on wheels that slide along | | | | that always welcomed those who had a quest for |
| the floor and allowed customers to move them to a | | | | knowledge. Remember a place like this where you |
| specific section, climb up to the highest shelf and | | | | grew up? |
| reach a particular book in which they were interested. | | | | |