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Powell's City of Books
Category: Shopping Books, Mags, Music and Video Bookstores Bookstores [Edit]
1005 W Burnside StPortland, OR 97209
Neighborhood: Downtown
(503) 228-4651
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am - 11 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Parking:
- Street, Validated, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
1132 reviews for Powell's City of Books
Review Highlights
"Color-coded rooms are helpful when you're getting lost."
(in 28 reviews)
"I can get lost in this place and love every minute."
(in 97 reviews)
"I could spend days browsing the shelves."
(in 14 reviews)
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1130 reviews in English
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Review from M T.
Healdsburg, CA
2/6/2012
Spent 7 hours in Powell's the last time I was in Portland...and that was just in one section of one color...there is no doubt this is where everyone who loves to read should go for a pilgrimage.
Powell's is an Oasis from stores that have the same dull cr*p with no variety that are trying to raise generations of people who only read because they liked the movie so much they thought they might branch out and try a book.
Do you still enjoy turning pages and underlining with a pen or pencil? Are you willing to read potentially yellowing paperback pages because you want content not fluff? Do you love technology but think it needs to stop short of replacing personal libraries with e-lists? In a world of diminishing returns, Powell's exists on a GRAND scale and reminds us of the potential of a community of thinkers.
Visit this shrine and buy so many books they have to give you a FREE bag like they did me! -
Review from Ben K.
1/29/2012
Pros: Multi-level bookstore, tons and tons of titles, good place to spend time and money, local
Cons: None
I'm going to keep this one short. Past reviewers have already said it. This is a Portland landmark. New and old titles, every subject, multi-levels, locally based. Great place to spend time and money. If you love to read, Powell's is your heaven. If you don't, go to Powell's anyways and pick up a new hobby. Reading makes you more intelligent and interesting, plus it's better than 90% of the crap on TV today. -
Review from Objective R.
Los Angeles, CA
1/27/2012
A true heaven for book lovers, book junkies, bookworms, book hoarders, book whores......
I want to live here. I want to quit my job, forget who I am and retire from daily life so I can spend the rest of my days at this place surrounded with books.
The prices are amazing. What else can I say about this bookstore?
This and the Strand are my favorites. I come here at least twice a year. Last time I bought 4 boxes of art, architecture, and some fiction. If you;re in Portland, this a bookstore that you should not miss under any cir-cum-stance. -
Review from Niki N.
Phoenix, AZ
1/25/2012
This place has an average rating of 5 stars for a reason... IT IS FREAKING AWESOME.
I don't know what I can say about this place that hasn't already been said. You can find pretty much anything you want here. Take a map. Or don't. Getting lost in this place is half the fun.
It's a Portland landmark. If you visited Portland and DIDN'T go to Powells, you didn't get the full experience. -
Review from Krista R.
1/24/2012
Bar none, GQ is my favorite pub. And 99.9% of the time they get it right. I mean, really right. Once in awhile, however, they miss the mark so egregiously that it's all I can do not to book a non-stop flight to NYC to protest in front of the Condé Nast building.
For example, a recent issue showcases Lewis Hamilton as a shout out to F1 coming back to race on US soil at the all-new $250 million track in Austin, Texas, this November. And I am thrilled with this. (Though personally I would've featured Alonso. And I would've put him on the cover.)
But for the last seven years I have been begging and pleading (even sent boxes of Susie Cakes as an attempt to sweeten my over-zealous proposals!) to add Nicky Hayden and his sport, MotoGP, to the spread as a sort of one-two punch. You know, F1 + MotoGP, the greatest four-wheeled and two-wheeled racing on the planet. You get where I'm going.
But even more offensive (I know, what could be more dreadful than NOT featuring the 2006 MotoGP World Champion in head-to-toe Gucci) is a recent piece on Portland, Oregon, where the staff at Gentleman's Quarterly decided to highlight Forrest Park, a food truck, some lame-ass comic-book store, some restaurant I've never heard of and McMenamins Bagdad Theater (props for this last one, actually). But they failed to mention our strip clubs (we have the best) and NO. POWELL'S.
The Greatest Bookstore in the World. The Biggest Bookstore in the World. Best Selection of Everything, All the Time, New and Used and Out-of-Print Bookstore in the World. Powell's is a perfect blossom in the City of Roses.
Born and raised in this rain-for-90-days-straight town (webbed feet to prove it), Powell's holds a very big spot in my memory bank: Camped out on the floor in the children's section reading Caldecott winners to my kid before he could walk. My friend finding rare WWII books to gift Lemmy when Motörhead came to play at the Roseland. Spectacular coffee-table books on the evolution of the Chevrolet for my old man. The readings. The sightings. Simply the best.
(If you don't live here, order all your books at http://Powells.com; anything over $50 and shipping is free.) -
Review from Kiana F.
2/5/2012
This place is my Disneyland. I love bookstores, I can spend HOURS in bookstores. With Powell's, I would need to spend days there just to make it through everything - and believe me, I want to make it through everything. It's so bad, that I have to take lists into Powell's so that I leave with what I want and nothing more - and usually it's still bagfuls of books. Because not only is their selection ginormous, the prices really can't be beat - and for a used bookstore, they're are usually in amazing condition.
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Review from Rachel M.
1/21/2012
OMG. That is all I can say. They have MAPS for a BOOKSTORE. This store is insane. Even my boyfriend, the self-professed hater of books and reading, was amazed my this store.
It seemed like everywhere I walked around Portland I ended up at Powell's because it takes up a whole block. You can't believe it until you see it.
Oh yeah and if you want to find something - take the map! -
Review from Kathleen Y.
Portland, OR
2/5/2012
SO FRECKIN' AWESOME! I love looking at books and its sooo big, it'll take hours to go thru each room and level. They probably have almost every book you could imagine and more! Definitely will check it out again if I have a hour or two to spare!
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Review from Lauren K.
1/17/2012 1 Check-in Here
Oh Portland. I fell in love. Powell's City of Books is literally that. A CITY of books. Engulfing at least an entire city block, book lovers could easily spend a full day inside it's walls.
With color coded rooms for each genre, this massive store is still fairly simple to navigate, and when you do get lost, just call out from the expanse of shelves and within seconds a friendly sales associate will be there to guide you out.
Stopping by Powell's is a must for any Portland visitors. Skip to doughnuts, the only line worth waiting in is the check out at Powell's.Listed in: Portlandia.
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Review from John F.
1/7/2012 2 Check-ins Here
As review 1112, what can I say that hasn't been said?
If you haven't been here, this is the Library of Alexandria of our time. This place is all positives and no negatives. Even the fact that they don't have parking isn't a negative, it is just that ridiculously great. You can order from them online too.
If you're going to stop at the coffee shop, you can take 5 books in there with you. They also have a huge used books collection mixed in with everything. They're green, friendly, they are so great they could easily have become be a chain but it's even cooler that they didn't.
If you don't love Powell's, you probably don't like Christmas, puppies, babies, or your mother either. -
Review from Janet M.
1/18/2012
There is really no reason for me to review Powell's. Ya'll covered it already.
It's awesome.To a bibliophile like me,it's nirvana.
But last week one of the foster parents I work with called Powell's "the place of the devil" and said she forbids the kids living with her to go there.
WTF? because all the LIBERALS go there. You know those LIBERALs, they're bad news!!!!
That just made it so much MORE appealing to me.
If I spend too much, I can tell my husband, "it wasn't me, it was the DEVIL!"
And those LIBERALS.
heheh -
Review from Evelyn S.
1/4/2012
What it should say on all of the doors into Powell's City of Books:
Warning, if you are a first time visitor please take a free map upon entering the store to prevent getting lost, search and rescue teams no longer respond to pleas to locate and recover lost shoppers.
Author Talks and Book Signings are what gets me into Powell's City of Books. From Storm Large to the Yarn Harlot their events are hot.
What keeps me inside the store for extended periods of time? It never fails that I find an entire new genre of books, and that is saying a lot as I am a (recovering) third generation bibliophile.
Why I don't have to leave in a hurry? They have a great coffee house right inside the store, who could ask for anything more? -
Review from Amy T.
1/3/2012 2 photos
It's hard to find fault in Powell's.
Not wanting to look like a tourist, I walked in acting like I've always visited this place. Just another Sunday afternoon. Man, am I a bad actor. Even though I tried really hard, I knew I must have looked like a wide eyed teenager walking from room to room. This place is amazing. Even if I tried, I can find the most obscure book and even surprised myself finding things I never thought existed.
This is a definite must visit for everyone and anyone who is in the city. If you're a book lover, you will be able to stay in here for hours, if you're not a book-worm, I'm sure you'll be just as amazed walking through. -
Review from Diane K.
1/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
5 stars for a book store?
Yes.
I never thought I would be so amazed by a book store. My partner who doesn't like reading even enjoyed himself.
Perhaps the best part is they sell used books at a great price. Love! -
Review from A. F.
Seattle, WA
2/4/2012
I would estimate that Powell's has about one million books. You will likely find what you are looking for and you will definitely find things you had no idea you needed.
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Review from Kymberli C.
Concord, CA
Definitely a city of books! You can spend days, weeks, months in here and not be bored. There is anything and everything you are looking for. There's a booklet map just to guide your way through! The rooms are color coded by topics too. It does get pretty packed and hard to walk passed people because the aisles are narrow. The checkout line also gets very long but goes by pretty fast. The line to sell your books is way longer. They have a lot of things other than books too, like gift type and novelty items.
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Review from Kayla W.
1/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
I could spend the entire day in this book store and go broke doing so. So many books its crazy! I love how they color code the rooms for sections of each book and then even have a map you can grab when you walk in because the place is so huge and you can get lost with all the stair cases and sections that lead you to discovering new things.
They have a coffee shop that you can hang out and read your new books you just bought, or havent bought yet, but might. The have funny cards, calendars, accessories, and lots of cool things!
Right now, if you go there is an entire section of books from the personal library of Anne Rice. She had some she even wrote notes in when she read them. My sister bought one. I thought that was super cool.
I love Powell's, you should too! -
Review from Cori K.
Sequim, WA
2/2/2012
There is definitely no better place than a building stacked high with books, all kinds of books. A whole three rows dedicated to Terry Pratchett! There is really no better place to convince me I need to read more! With knowledgeable staff manning each colored room, this is a bibliophiles haven. The adjoining World Cup Coffee & Tea makes leaving a near impossibility!
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Review from Justin C.
Honolulu, HI
1/31/2012 1 Check-in Here
such a huge! and I mean Huge, HUGE store.. You can spend hours and hours looking at their collections!
This is a great place to wonder around and find something interesting. -
Review from Steve V.
1/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
As hundreds of reviewers have said before me, this place is awesome. A building the size of a city block filled with books - new books, old books, autographed books, historical books - you name it! Every topic is covered! It is a bit of a maze if you are looking for something specific, but there is a lot of signage directing you to the appropriate "color" of the store.
There is also a nice cafe inside where you can sip on a latte and read your latest find.
Parking can be tough, but there are lots around.
If you just want to grab a book and go, this place may be a bit overwhelming. Instead, I would suggest that you go and stay for a while. Peruse the shelves and get lost - you never know what you will find! -
Review from Joey Y.
12/30/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Books + Coffee + Portland + Curiosity = Powell's.
Whether you are on a date, strolling the city at night, or just bored, being at Powell's makes your plan so much better. Serious. I love this place. -
Review from Misha R.
Portland, OR
1/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
Can I please just set up a tent somewhere and live here forever?
Every time I come here I stay for way longer than I meant to. First I just want to look at the schlock horror novels, then I wander over to the sci-fi, then I swing by to the cafe 'just for a quick cup of coffee', then it's upstairs to the 'local interest' section and the new age shelves. One the way back downstairs, I get distracted by the journals and other merch, some of which is really quite clever.
I step outside and wonder where the hell the last three hours went, and whether or not I can justify going back in 'just for a little longer'. -
Review from Rich P.
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
1,117 reviews ahead of this one. Sheesh, I'm not even going to bother with many details. What can I say? Powell's is a Portland institution and there's good reason for that. It's a Mecca for books and it is super-easy to while away many hours among the shelves. Sure, you can probably get the books cheaper on Amazon, but you don't have the fun of browsing shelves, serendipity, and the ability to actually hold the book in your hand, leaf through it, read a bit, and truly decide if you want to spend the money on it. When you're done, why not grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner at one of the many good restaurants nearby or the Alder food-cart pod which is only a couple of blocks away. A great way to spend the day in PDX!
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Review from Christina S.
Costa Mesa, CA
11/23/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Thank you Powell's for having the most helpful of staff, staying one late, great prices, the most organized of any independent books stores ever!! I have been wanting to come to Powell's now for years and alas my trip to Portland happened! The bf and I parted ways in here and I found myself in awe in just how massive this place was. For years I have been trying to replace a lost first edition copy of Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan. Though they did not have the vintage first edition coy they did have paper backs some of which were rather old and many of her other translated books and evener French books. I bought a few and my quest to find the first edition still continues. However this place has so many other great books. The art section was also great!!!
LOVE THIS PLACE! The tax free shopping in Portland is AWESOME and we came back with lots of great finds!!! -
Review from Jesus A.
12/19/2011 5 Check-ins Here
Powells is the largest book that carries all books, and if its not there they will get it to you. The place is very large, level after level. It is divided into sections that makes it helpfull to find the book you were looking for.
I have found several of my text books among other books for me. -
Review from robert a.
Portland, OR
11/28/2011
I could hardly call myself a Portlander without openly expressing my undying love and devotion for Powell's. Powell's is not just a bookstore, it's my favorite way to spend a Saturday -- not just a Saturday morning or a Saturday afternoon, but a Saturday.
The world has changed and people these days download their reading materials to electronic devices or they order them from the Amazonians. For those who still have the need to touch and gaze upon and smell an old paperback before buying it, Powell's is more than a store, it's a generous gift to our community. -
Review from Nick F.
Newport Beach, CA
1/26/2012
If you're visiting Portland, carve out at least and hour make a trip to this store.
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Review from Rachel W.
1/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
I want to live here. I stayed for hours. It smelled like childhood. I could have spent a million dollars on all kinds of weird books I could never get anywhere else. As a Latin teacher, there were a billion books I wanted to buy. As a hopeful romantic, another billion. Cute section of cards and junk that made me laugh. The color coding was brilliant. A must-see on your Portland trip.
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Review from angela k.
Littlerock, CA
11/26/2011
WOW. Never been to such a large bookstore. Totally reminded me of the movie Pagemaster with Macaulay Culkin. The whole entire building is filled with books with color-coded rooms that correspond to genres of books you are looking for.
If I ever grew up in Portland, I probably would have spent my free time here. I definitely could stay here from morning to night. This place is a must stop destination for travelers (you probably can grab a book on clearance or sale for your continuing trip!)
TIPS:
-If you found the particular book you are looking for, you may be able to find a used copy for cheaper price!
-street meter parking (accepts credit card and coins)Listed in: Portland OR MUSTS
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Review from Margaret p.
San Jose, CA
1/17/2012
I wouldn't consider myself that much of a reader, but in a place like this, it's not like it matters!! I fell in love the young adult collectible books section, and the rare books room isn't to be missed. One could spend the whole day here, easily.
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Review from Jeff C.
Arcadia, CA
1/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
This is a HUGEEE bookstore, the staff is helpful and its nice to just grab some book/magazines and have a quick read at the coffee shop. Everything is clean and well organized, bicycle friendly, and in a centralized location. I'm giving it 4 stars because one of the employees had to ask me if the plastic heman sword I was carrying was real, LOL.
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Review from Claudia B.
Simi Valley, CA
1/28/2012
Honestly, I was overwhelmed, color coded or not. When I have endless choices and a limited amount of time, I never know what to pick. It's huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. It's on several floors, easily a city block (or is it more?) It's chopped up into bi-levels, tri-levels, room after room after room........it really is difficult to get a sense of its immense and endless inventory of books.........and frankly, many other items, as well. I was blown away by their selection of maps alone. ENDLESS. There's even a room of rare, antique books. They keep the door closed and only let in a few people at a time to be able to view those (at least, when I was there, that's how it was). That was pretty cool. This place makes it quite convenient for me to buy my niece gift cards from here for her birthday or the holidays. What better place for her to buy books from? That's her #1 favorite pasttime. She's so easy to shop for that way, and living in Portland, this is such a great place for her to go. I was really pleased my brother recommended we visit this place.
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Review from Nina T.
11/27/2011 1 photo
Not that Powell's needs yet another 5 star review...
I love this place. I stop in almost every time I'm in Portland, and I have not yet left the building without purchasing at least one item. It's easy to spend hours browsing books (and at the end of those hours, you realize there's still half of the store that you didn't even set foot in!). Some really nice bargains to be found in the $1 and other discount shelves, too. -
Review from Amiee H.
12/6/2011
WOW, I seriously don't like books or even read but I even thought this book store was AMAZING! I spend like 2 hours here with a friend and we barely got through the FIRST level! This book store is like 4 stories and takes up an ENTIRE block!
I know what you are thinking...HOW CAN IT BE SO BIG?? Well, you've got to go see it for yourself to believe it!!! -
Review from Marc S.
San Francisco, CA
12/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
The selection is seriously freaking huge!
This place sells new and used books, and the are kept together, so when you find a book you like, you can easily decide on what condition you want at what price. -
Review from Vinh N.
Providence, RI
1/16/2012
Just perfect. You can spend hours and hours in here and just fall in love with this place. You would probably be broke and overstimulated, but it is worth every minute. My hotel was right next door and it was a perfect way to kill time in between adventures. A can't miss site to see when in Portland.
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Review from Kalani C.
11/10/2011
What can I say that hasn't already been mentioned. Powell's City of Books is the most amazing book store I have ever encountered. I can literally spend hours just perusing the more than four million new, used, rare and out of print books in the 68,000 square feet retail space (nearly 1.6 acres worth!) This compound occupies an entire city block between NW 10th & 11th Avenues and W Burnside & NW Couch Streets.
In the advent of the e-book, I hope Powell's can still secure their niche in rare, hard to find and used books. A splendid rare find and an integral part of what makes Portland such a unique destination.
#Yelp 365: 102/365Listed in: Yelp 365, The Beaver State: All things…
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Review from Tres B.
Denver, CO
10/30/2011 1 photo
Okay, so I've been here a 1000 times and Powell's has been reviewed over a 1000 times. So why add to the scrum? Because this is the touchstone destination to my favorite city Portland, as is the stone to Blarney.
Perhaps when I lived in Portland, I took this place a bit for granted. But Borders has failed, Half Price Books is on the ropes and Barnes and Nobles is passe'.
So today, Powell's is almost as much museum as bookstore. Stacked and packed with tangible ready material..yes kids you can get a lovely paper cut from these things.. there was time even in my recollection that most big cities had giant bookstores akin to Powells. But in this city of rain and fireplaces and Craftsmen homes, books - real books- still make sense.
I love wandering the floors and soaking in the smell of pulp and glue, browsing magazines from Budapest and picking out a book mark from an array of several hundred.
This isn't just a bookstore, its an anthem to civilization. A oblisk-like living memorial to the art and importance of language. I cherish Powell's. -
Review from Yael N.
Beaverton, OR
12/11/2011
I'm new to Portland, but this was the place that made me fall truly in love with this city.
My first time visiting a friend, I was told about it. i had never heard of such a place, but one look and I can't believe I'd gone so long without seeing it. You can get lost for hours and hours and no one will ever find you. I especially love that you can purchase used books right alongside their new counterparts.
Seriously, Powell's is like Disneyland for book worms. -
Review from Mel B.
San Diego, CA
1/12/2012
Does a better bookstore exist? Me thinks not. Powell's takes the cake. Speaking of cake, Powell's must have at least 80 books on just that topic. I purchased an awesome design book written by a London author. Yes, the line was long, but it went fast. Based on the little interaction I had, the staff was nice and directed me to right section. If I lived in Portland, I could see myself spending TONS of time in this bookstore. So nerdy. So me. LOVE IT!
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