The Seminary Co-op Bookstore in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood is celebrating its 50th anniversary on October 27. To mark the occasion, the bookstore, a Windy City literary icon located in the basement of the Chicago Theological Seminary, will move by July 2012 from the 3,200-square foot retail space it’s been housed in since 1961 to another location a block away that’s intended to include an 8,800-square-foot retail space. The store’s new address will be 5751 South Woodlawn Avenue, north of the Robie House, a local tourist attraction.
A committee composed of University of Chicago representatives and bookstore members has engaged the Chicago firm of Tigerman McCurry Architects to design the new building, which will feature a large event space, so that it can host author events on its premises for the first time, and a café. The store will be located on the first floor and basement of McGiffert House, which is owned by the University of Chicago.
“The entire cost of the move, including build-out and the move itself, and the architecture, everything is being paid for by the University,” disclosed Jack Cella, the Seminary Co-op’s general manager. “The Co-op isn’t paying a penny. “The level of support from the neighborhood and institutions speak to the value [they] place on the Co-op and on bookstores in general,” he added.
The Seminary Co-op was founded in 1961 by 17 booklovers and University of Chicago students, who contributed $10 each to launch the store, which specializes in humanities and social science titles. Today, the store carries 126,000 titles and employs 12 full-time and six part-time employees. It’s one of three cooperatively owned affiliated bookstores; the other two are 57th Street Books, which was founded around the corner from the Seminary Co-op in 1983 and features general interest titles for adults and children; and the Newberry Library Bookstore on the North Side near downtown, which became part of the Seminary Co-op in 1995.
The Seminary-Coop Bookstores have more than 50,000 members, who enjoy 10% store discounts after purchasing three shares of stock in the corporation at $10 each. The Seminary Co-op’s most famous member just might be President Obama, who resided in the neighborhood until he was elected, and still is occasionally seen shopping there with his family.
The Seminary Co-op’s 50th anniversary celebration will include a birthday party on Friday, October 28, as well as a series of author and book events [held offsite] throughout the fall and spring, culminating in the opening celebrations at the store’s new location. No word yet on whether President Obama will be attending the birthday party, or any of the author and book events marking the store’s 50th.
