Seattle's downtown Barnes & Noble to close Saturday after 22 years
SEATTLE — After 22 years, Seattle's downtown Barnes & Noble announced it would be closing its doors for good Saturday.
The announcement marks the closure of the last general bookstore left in the city's downtown core. The Barnes & Noble at 600 Pine St. posted the news on its Facebook page, thanking the city for its support over the last two decades.
"Thank you, Seattle, for 22 years of your patronage," the bookstore posted on Facebook.
People nostalgic for the location looking to make one last visit before it's gone have just one more day to make the trip to the Pacific Place shopping center.
Through its years, the bookstore has hosted many book signings and events with authors, gathering people together to learn about and discuss books of all types and genres.
After the downtown store closes, the last remaining Barnes & Noble within city limits will be the Northgate location. The Barnes & Noble in the University Village -- which offered two stories of books and music -- closed its doors back in 2011.
Since then, several bookstores in cities across the country have been struggling or been forced to shut as Amazon has becoming increasingly popular, rents have gone up and bookstores have made fewer sales and had less traffic.
Seattle is still home to several independent bookstores, including Elliott Bay Book Company in Capitol Hill, which boasts the "region's best selection of new books." The city also has several other smaller new and used bookstores in different neighborhoods -- including Magus Books in the University District and Third Place Books in Ravenna -- which offer their own unique spins and cozy environments.
And of course, the Seattle Public Library offers multiple floors with thousands of titles for people to read.
But with the closure of the downtown Barnes & Noble, the city is still losing one of the last sites in the downtown core where people could come in, browse books, cozy up and read.