The History of Powell’s Books: A Literary Legacy
By Robert Matsumura, Contributing Writer
If you’ve ever spent an afternoon strolling the seemingly endless aisles of books at Powell’s flagship store on Burnside, it’s likely that the immensity of the store and its massive inventory has left you a bit awestricken. It’s not everyday that one encounters a three-story bookstore that encompasses an entire city block. One of the largest new and used bookstores in the world, with an inventory of approximately one million books, Powell’s City of Books is one of Portland’s cultural treasures.
In today’s fast-paced digital world of online retailing, where browsing for books is typically done on the screen of a laptop or mobile phone, one can’t help but marvel at Powell’s ability to endure as the brick and mortar bookstore supreme. Yet, like many great achievements, Powell’s Books emerged from humble origins and grew in phases over many decades.
It all started in 1970 when Michael Powell, a graduate student with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Chicago, started a bookstore in the Windy City. As an Oregonian with experience working as a commercial fisherman, Michael lacked experience as a bookseller. He was encouraged, however, by professors and friends, including the famous novelist Saul Bellow, and eventually acquired a loan for $3,000 to assume a lease on a Chicago bookstore that dealt in used books. Two months later, Michael had paid back his loan and was turning a profit on his new venture.
In the summer of 1971, Michael’s father, Walter, came out from Portland to manage his son’s store while he was on vacation. Like Michael, his father also developed a passion for bookselling, and when Walter returned to Portland he decided to open his own bookstore with 100 boxes of used books purchased at a rummage sale. With a diverse background that included work as a painter, wallpapering contractor, newspaper reporter, and a teacher of industrial arts, Walter brought an unorthodox approach to the bookselling business which ran counter to traditional methods. At his store at Southwest 12th and Burnside, the elder Powell had decided to sell both used and new books together, contrary to the standard practice of bookstores either selling one or the other—used or new—and certainly not jumbling them together on the same shelves. Initially, Michael wasn’t certain what to make of his father’s unique approach. “In the used book world,” Michael explained, “mixing paperbacks and hardbacks was not so much of a stretch, but when my Dad had the idea of bringing new books too, I had no sympathy.” Walter’s unorthodox approach, however, combined with the fact that Powell’s was open 365 days a year, staffed by passionate and knowledgeable employees, and fashioned for book lovers, created a synergy that propelled the store to success.
Reflecting on the success of Powell’s Books, Michael stated in the August 23, 1981 edition of the Oregonian, that his father’s unorthodox approach worked because it was a benefit to both the bookseller and the book buyer. From the bookseller’s end of the equation, used books were more profitable than new ones since the profit margin (in the late 1970s and 80s) was 50-60 percent on used books, versus around 40 percent on new ones. Michael explained that the customer was likely to buy a used copy, and “bless you for the bargain.”
With business booming, Walter decided to move the store across the street to a larger space. The new space (the present location), previously occupied by a car dealership, expanded the square footage of the store from 24,000 to 30,000. He also convinced Michael to return to Portland and join him in operating the store. By 1982, Walter had sold the store to Michael, though he remained involved in managing the store till he passed away in 1985.
Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Powell’s continued to grow at a tremendous rate, becoming one of the largest bookstores in America. This period of time saw the addition of the Anne Hughes coffee house where customers could relax and peruse books from the store, as well as new Powell’s locations in Pioneer Courthouse Square (Powell’s Travel Store), Powell’s Books for Cooks and Gardeners on SE Hawthorne, and a Technical Publications Annex near the main store on Burnside. Powell’s also expanded into the suburbs with a store in Beaverton at Cascade Plaza. In 1999, Powell’s completed construction of a $3.5 million four-story tower on its main store, which increased total retail space to 68,000 square feet. The 90s also saw the introduction of computerization to the store, and unionization by the employees who voted to join the ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union). By the 2000s, Powell’s was also selling books online through their website, as large competitors such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble had transformed the bookselling experience with the ease of online shopping and delivery.
Today, Emily Powell, Michael’s daughter, is president and owner of Powell’s Books (Michael retired in 2010, though he still works in the warehouse processing used books), and Patrick Bassett, a business consultant from Eugene, operates as CEO. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, political unrest, and labor issues which have hit Portland hard, Powell’s Books has managed to survive. Of the sprawling book empire that once spread across Portland, Powell’s now consists of its flagship store on Burnside, a sizable location at Cedar Hills Crossing in Beaverton, and a store on Hawthorne Blvd in southeast Portland. In a recent article in Publisher’s Weekly, Emily stressed that many of the most critical challenges facing Powell’s are technology driven. The company has recently hired a new head of technology to manage its large IT department in an effort to raise their online functionality to a level sufficient to effectively meet the needs/expectations of the book buying public—a daunting task when competing against the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
As the world changes at breakneck speed, the city of Portland along with it, just remember there are many wonderful things that have endured. For over 50 years we have been fortunate to have the largest independent bookstore in the world in our very backyard. We can only hope that future generations will enjoy another 50 years of the literary bounty that Powell’s offers.
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