Flagship Bookstore Rizzoli Reopens

Alessio Shostak (July 24, 2015)

The iconic bookstore Rizzoli reopened its doors to much fanfare on Tuesday, July 21st in a brand new location in the NoMad neighborhood. This move comes approximately a year after its controversial closure on 57th Street despite the protests of many aficionados, and is seen as a feel-good story following the seemingly ominous closures of Pearl Plant and J&R Music and Computer World last year.

The new bookstore located at 1133 Broadway retains many of its signature features which characterized its beloved predecessor, such as its iron and brass chandeliers and cherry wood bookcases.

The new 5,000 square foot space is on the ground floor of the St James Building, whose architectural style designed in 1896 by Bruce Price mirrors that of the previous bookstore. The new store also boasts 18-foot ceilings, a skylight, and a red, pivoted door.

Lauro Donnini, a representative of Rcs Libri, the international publishing media company that championed Rizzoli’s revival, lamented the downfall of many of the City’s libraries and the shifting trend towards acquiring books digitally; “”Buying books on Amazon is easier. However, normally when someone goes on Amazon they already know what they want.

We [Rizzoli] want to be a place where people can come in and discover something new, something unknown.” Donnini praised the role of bookworms worldwide for making this revival possible and claimed that “After 51 years we want to continue to be a cultural centre, not only for New Yorkers and tourists but also for the entire intellectual community worldwide.”