57th Street Books

A cool, semi-underground bookstore beloved by the Obamas! I loved exploring here and finding unique titles. The children’s section was so nice and varied and the staff members were extremely helpful and friendly!

This is such a cool place! Exploring all the different rooms is so fun and makes book shopping feel like a treasure hunt. The staff are nice and very helpful, never had a bad experience there! The only downside is it's a little small so that limits selection some, but I usually don't go there to get something specific and they have enough that I've never had an issue finding something I want to read. And it's connected to another bookshop a couple blocks away that has a different selection too. A Hyde Park must visit!

I visited this bookstore hoping to browse and purchase books, and the experience was deeply uncomfortable and unsettling. From the moment I walked in, I felt unwelcome as a Black woman. I was not greeted or acknowledged at all when entering, despite standing in clear view of the staff. While I understand that employees may be assisting other customers, a simple “hello” or acknowledgment is basic courtesy. What made this experience more concerning is that shortly after I entered, other customers (who were white) were greeted warmly upon arrival and actively offered assistance. An employee even asked a white woman if she needed help or was just browsing while walking directly past me without acknowledgment or eye contact. I spent several minutes in the store browsing and was never asked if I needed help, nor acknowledged in any way. The contrast in treatment was noticeable and uncomfortable. I left without making a purchase and will not return. I strongly encourage people of color to consider shopping elsewhere.

I was born just two years after this bookstore first opened its doors, and I became one of its earliest little wanderers. Some of my first and most treasured childhood memories live within those walls. My mother would bring me here, and I'd run off and settle myself into a tiny rocking chair in the children’s section while I lost myself in stories. When I was small, the place felt like running through a labyrinth, with tunnels of books twisting and turning, each shelf a passage into another universe. Even after my family moved away, the memory of this place never loosened its hold on me. Three decades later, I returned and found it still standing, still as magical as it had been when I was a child. From the street, the entrance looks enchanted, like a red British phone booth with a wooden sign swinging gently above it. It could easily belong in the world of Harry Potter. Stepping into that crimson booth and descending the staircase feels less like entering a shop and more like passing through a portal. Inside, you discover that this is a gateway to countless worlds, each waiting patiently on its shelf for the right reader to open the door. It is a cornerstone of the Hyde Park community and a cornerstone of my own memory, one of the places that helped shape my imagination. I wish this bookstore many more years, many more readers, and many more worlds to come.