Iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank

Iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank(atlasobscura.com)

65 points by Moody_10001 5 years ago | 17 comments

I lived in LA for a few decades, and one of the few things that kept me sane as a software engineer living in a land of space cadets and celebrity worshiping airheads was the grand plethora of technical bookshops and electronics supply stores that were, once, liberally littered across the landscape from Burbank to Culver City to East LA.

I haven't been back to LA in decades, but I sure hope that OpAmp Bookstore is still alive and kicking, and has had its share of bookshop cats since I last scratched that scruffy itch. LA has so many wonderful secret locations hidden in obscure streets, behind strange storefronts .. it was one of those cities where the old maxim "don't judge the food by the entrance" was also true of bookshops ...

daniel_reetz 5 years ago | |

Opamp is gone, Burbank Electronics is gone, Norton Sales is still there but a fraction of what it once was, All Electronics is still going, Apex (best of the best) still going, and Luky's hardware is still open.

azon 5 years ago | | |

Fry's Too :(

CalChris 5 years ago |

The LA bookstore I remember most was Opamp Technical Books on Sycamore in Hollywood. But they're gone now.

fooblat 5 years ago | |

So many happy memories of that place!

Like the time I went there in the early 90s as a teenager to get a book about this new html thing. It was so new they had just one book on the subject!

somesortofsystm 5 years ago | |

Oh, so sad to hear that its no longer there .. it was a staple in my young engineer life, so many decades ago now, and was definitely a rare gem in the area. I remember one Saturday morning, the herculean effort it took to get past the junkies and into OpAmp for a supply of fresh techdat. Sheesh, so sad to hear its gone.

tyingq 5 years ago |

Was hoping to see a repurposed vault with the high-end books. Found a picture here...that's pretty cool: https://untappedcities.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/02-DSC...

joelkesler 5 years ago |

There is a short documentary available on Amazon Prime Video (US) called “Welcome to the Last Bookstore” of you want to learn a bit more about this gem:

https://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Last-Bookstore-Josh-Spencer/d...

TomK32 5 years ago | |

Is it the same as on Vimeo? https://vimeo.com/139828664

willxinc 5 years ago | | |

Checking the uploader, it seems to be the same.

aloukissas 5 years ago |

One of my favorite hidden (not really hidden, but well, not the most known either) gems in DTLA. A must-visit!

servercobra 5 years ago | |

Agreed, I always took my friends and family there when we they visited. It's such a cute and unique little place: the vault, the book tunnel, the book hole to take pictures through (though often with a line heh), the vending machines for little cards and gifts, not to mention the books themselves and comfy chairs to read for a bit.

mnd999 5 years ago |

Reminds me of the one in the UK housed in a disused railway station: https://www.barterbooks.co.uk/html/About%20Us/The%20Bookshop...

riffic 5 years ago |

I think calling a former/defunct bank location "abandoned" is a stretch.

octygen 5 years ago |

Love the place, à must visit, BUT, after taking my girlfriend for her birthday, beware leaving there at night. She was very uncomfortable even walking to the car. DTLA in general is quite iffy at night.

cafard 5 years ago |

I picked up a used copy of The Last Puritan there a few years ago when visiting LA. I wish I could say that I remember the bookstore well.

Klwohu 5 years ago |

What's up with Atlas Obscura? I see several posts a day here, is it a YC-backed blog? Also I don't think the building was abandoned, but it was a bank.