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| Hearsay: |
Earlier this week I bemoaned the disappearance of the This Ain’t the Rosedale Library from Church Street.
This seems to have served as foreshadowing for the real loss of a Toronto institution – Torontoist is reporting that Pages Books will close in August. For those of you not in the know, Pages is a block north of the most inhospitable of downtown terrain in Toronto: CLUBLAND. It is an area populated with Aritzia clones, the Chain and clubs with names like ‘Pearl Lounge.’
Though Pages has been in danger of losing its storefront for some time (due to the high cost of rent), there have always been accompanying rumours that it was merely moving further west to an area where it would be less of a curiosity and more apt to get traffic. At the moment, this appears not to be the case.
Thankfully, Pages’ This Is Not a Reading Series, now its own non-profit, will live on, carrying out the dream.
While Pages’ indie cachet was slowly seeming outmoded in an area populated by ad men, drunks and kids skipping school, it is still sad to lose such a venerable bookseller in the downtown core. Guess it’s up to Ben McNally and Nicholas Hoare now.
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July 9th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Disappointing news, indeed. The last holdout in what was once the Telegraph Avenue of Toronto. Marc Glassman is a very smart guy and I look forward to seeing whatever he puts his energy into next.
Meanwhile, it’s time to flock to This Ain’t the Rosedale Library over in Kensington and help that place flourish!
July 9th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Really? I just heard — third hand, via a publisher’s sales rep, via the manager of the indie bookstore where I work — that they’d found a new location. Perhaps someone should call Marc Glassman, Pages’ owner, and double-check?
July 9th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Probably the best bookstore in Canada gone. That is so depressing.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I’ve heard first hand that they have not found a new location.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Indie cachet.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Thank you.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I was just in there a week or so ago and the woman working at the desk said they’d found a new location, at Queen West and Bathurst. I really hope this news is premature.
Don’t forget to check out This Ain’t the Rosedale Library in Kensington Market – it’s still a great shop.
July 9th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
The Globe & Mail just reported that they’re closing for good.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Very sad. It had the best small press section of any store I’d ever been into.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
That’s sad, sad news. I kept hoping they’d find another location.
Any idea how long they’ll remain open?
(I still miss Abelard, too.)
July 9th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
That is so sad.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Thank you all for the kind words. We are indeed closing the doors to the shop on August 31. The fall TINARS season begins on Sept 8.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
I just posted a note with some photos of the sadly depleted shelves at Pages (tomorrow’s their last day). I provide there a link to info about a party that’s being held for Pages at the Gladstone on Sept. 8.