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Powell's City of Books

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1005 W Burnside St
Portland, OR 97209

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(503) 228-4651
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Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Powell's City of Books - Portland, OR
Reviews
( 45 )
( 21 )
( 5 )
( 4 )
( 6 )

Best

Still hanging on to this uncomfortable encounter years later? Must have been a bad day for both of you. I have had so many wonderful experiences at Powells City of Books that I ...

Worst

You can't trust Powell's online orders! If you are a student, or ordering a book for a present, don't use Powell's online. Even if they confirm your order, if the book runner dis...

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An amazing book store. 10/31/2006

Forget amazon.com for books if you're lucky enough to live near portland. They have a huge selection of new and used books arranged in a very organized fashion. They have multiple floors covering a city block. You could spend a week in Powells. Also, stop by the cafe inside for a warm cup of coffee while you read your new book. more
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BEST BOOK STORE!!! 8/27/2006

If you're looking for school material or just a good read this is the place to find it all. I could spend hours just walking around looking at the books! The rare book room is also a nice find! more
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Powell's books 7/6/2006

Just the best bookstore on the planet (and I've been to all of the other stores listed on the best rated bookstores list). more
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The other reason I'd move to Portland 4/24/2006

If Powells had apartments, I spend all my time there. I LOVE this place. I can find a section JUST on lofts, then go down a floor and find out all about knitting on Tuesdays with my left hand. I can never spend less than an hour here and if I had my way, it would be four hours easily. I'm happy that they finally let the customers look stuff up on the computers so the employees can do more important things. The cafe inside helps keep me there for much longer. You can get most, if not all, of the books online, but it's not the same as wandering around learning new things. more
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Books, Books, More Books and Even More Books 3/18/2006

In every way, this is the greatest bookstore in the world. Have you ever walked into a store and felt like you totally belonged right there? That is the essence of Powell's. I'm a book fanatic. If it has words and a binding, I'll probably read it. So walking into an amazing bookstore like Powell's is a spiritual experience. Everywhere you turn there are books. And although you may be saying, so what, that sounds like any bookstore, it's totally different. Powell's creates this wonderful marriage between new books and used books. So if you go in looking for one particular book, you can choose whether to pay full price, or pay a little less by grabbing the slightly dog-eared copy. And I'm betting that won't be the only book you walk out of there with either. The greatest thing about Powell's is the sheer volume of unusual, hard to find, just plain interesting books. And they are all priced just right. Don't even ask me about their rare book selection...it's amazing. If you love books, you must go there and experience this for yourself. more
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The best Bookstore in the world! 2/24/2006

If you haven't been to Powell's, then you need to make it a priority. Powell's is one of the few places you can go and spend hours perusing fantastic books. Now, I know there are many large bookstores in the world, but Powell's puts them all to shame. They have new and used on the shelf together. It is an extremely rare moment when they don't have in stock anything you may be looking for. Half of the fun is finding so many books that interest you, that you didn't even know existed. All of the people who work there love books, so you get exceptional service. Go to Powell's grab a few books that interest you and go to the coffee shop and watch the world go by. Powell's is a little bit of heaven in Portland. more
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Bibliophile heaven 1/13/2006

If you’ve lived in Portland for any length of time then you’re probably already familiar with Powell’s, but if you’re a recently relocated bibliophile, you may not yet know about these three stories of literature-packed heaven. Powell’s City of Books on West Burnside takes up a full city block and is packed with new and used books, magazines, stationary, and maps. The store is easy to navigate with the help of a free map from the information desk. Books are organized by topic and housed in one of 9 rooms; each room is named after a different color. The Red Room, for instance, holds titles on travel, health and religion. Visit the Rose Room if you’re looking for children and young adult literature, or books on science and sports. Once you find a title you’re interested in, take a moment to dig through all available copies. Books are priced by condition, and if you don’t mind a slightly battered copy you may find one that’s a few dollars less than the others. While you’re there, take your used books to Powell’s resale counter and grab a cup of coffee their in-house café. Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, Portland. (800) 878-7323. more
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Books, Books and more Books 1/1/2006

I simply love this place. I could wander around for days at a time. This place is a book lover's dream. The building takes up a full city block and has several floors. There are books for just about every taste. Plus they buy books and seem to give a fair deal for them. Here is a place with books for every taste and every budget. Go see for yourself. more
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The best book store in the world 12/31/2005

If you are at all interested in books, how could you not love this place? It is huge, ever evolving, has lots of events, great prices and you can lose yourself for hours on end, emerging only to eat. The staff is great - always helpful when you need to find something (or even want a recommendation), but otherwise they stay out of your way, which is exactly what you want in a store that you're meant to browse in. It's very easy to find what you're looking for - and if you can't, there are maps everywhere to help you out. The color coding of the rooms really makes it simple to figure out. We are extremely lucky to have such this place here in Portland! more
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Need hours, and hours to explore 12/20/2005

You will need hours and hours to explore this incredible book store. It is huge. You'll get lost, in adventures, advice, and philosophy. Looking for a hard to find book? Powell's probably has it. You can shop online too, if you don't feel like making the drive downtown. The staff is great, willing to help you navigate your adventure. more
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HUGE bookstore 12/8/2005

If you can't find it in Powell's, you probably won't find it anywhere! This place is huge, and you can seriously get lost in here. It's a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon just wandering and browsing. You're sure to find books on any subject you can imagine. Check this place out! more
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The Bookstore Of Our Dreams 10/31/2005

When I moved to Portland, the first place my husband (a Portland native) took me was Powell's City of Books. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. We spent hours just browsing the stacks, finding everything from first edition masterpieces to out-of-print pulp fiction. I couldn't imagine there was any book I needed that wasn't there. I still half-believe it's a parallel universe, a paradise for book-geeks like me who dream of endless shelves stocked with every book on earth. The staff at Powell's is helpful and remarkably well-informed. Many of them seem to carry some sort of internal book database that displays both a love of reading and a love of Powell's. And if that fails them, they have access at their fingertips to the incredible Powell's system, which guides you to the precise book in a fraction of an instant. I've also sold a few books there, and I've been doubly impressed with their buyers. They have the uber-internal book database, and I'd love to peek inside their brains to determine their incredible organization. Very imrpessive to watch them in action. And a bonus to get credits or cash for books you received or bought but don't care for. The fact that Powell's is an independent bookstore just floors me. I'm overwhelmed every time I walk in, realizing that this is one of the best and greatest indepedent bookstores in the world. I do everything I can to keep them in business, and I take all my Portland guests to visit them too. The look of awe and delight on their faces is sort of a payback for the first time I stepped in the door. It never gets old. more
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My favorite book store 10/26/2005

I am big on supporting local industry, so I love that the nation's largest independant bookstore is in Portland. They have an amazing selection of new and used books. I feel like I am in heaven everytime I walk through their doors. The low prices only help to feed the habit of a book junkie like me. The staff is friendly, but unobtrusive. They also seem to care more about what they are doing than employees at mega book chain stores. more
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A Book Lover's Dream 10/26/2005

I'm sure Powell's has been reviewed a hundred times, but it can't be said enough: this is the place to browse when you've got an afternoon to meander as the rain falls outside. It's also the place you take your visiting relatives, your geeky date, or your kids when Harry Potter comes out. There's a great cafe, used book buying, and row after row of books, new, used, antique. There is also a huge selection of journals, calendars, magnets,, and literary zines and journals. For book lovers in a very literate city, Powell's is a dream come true. more
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Awesome Book Store 10/25/2005

This is one of the best bookstores that I have ever stepped foot into. They have just about anything you are looking for. I could spend hours at a time at this store searching for books that I wanted and looking for books that might be interesting. If you love reading you gotta check this store out its the best. I don't ever come out of this store empty handed sometimes I could buy too much. more
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Indescribable 10/9/2005

If you visit Portland, this is one stop you HAVE to make. When I first arrived here, one of the first places I went to was Powell's. If you love books, this is your Disneyland. I was speechless when I walked in. I literally spent all day here, hours just wandering around and browsing before walking out with an armful of books at closing--the first of many such trips. Bliss. more
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Wow! 9/29/2005

I love going to Powell's Bookstore! I am a book lover, and it's wonderful to see all the used and new books of ANY type you can imagine. I can lose myself in this store for hours just browsing the aisles finding every book under the sun, just waiting to be read! more
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the biggest (and best) bookstore ever! 9/24/2005

Powells has room after room of books. They shelve their new books right next to their used books, so you can usually find several options, depending on the price and quality you are looking for. They have computers in all the rooms so you can find if they have a certain book (most likely they do) and exactly where it is located. You can bring in used books to sell back for cash or store credit (they can be picky about what they will buy). Powells is a treat I enjoy every time I am in Portland. more
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Plan to spend some time there... 9/23/2005

The Powell's on Burnside is huge!!! You can wander for hours on end. They have an amazing selection of books in just about every category you can think of. The prices are pretty good too! However, don't expect to get much money when selling your books there. They don't pay very much at all, but that is how they give you good prices when you buy from them. If you haven't been there yet, you should really check it out! Powell's is a nice place to wander around on a rainy, dreary day. more
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I love this place 9/16/2005

Powell's City of Books, is by far the best bookstore I have ever been to. I can spend hours looking through the enormous amount of books that they stock. What I love about this place is that they always seem to have an ample supply of high quality used books at low prices. The clearance section is great too. more
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Editorial

  • In Short
    Billed as the nation's largest independent bookstore, Powell's occupies an entire city block and requires a map to navigate. Though Powell's size and reputation draws tourists by...

  • 6/12/2006 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Hours: Monday To Sunday From 09:00 AM To 08:30 PM
  • Payments: Master Card, Visa, American Express, Discover
  • Neighborhoods: Neighbors West - Northwest, Pearl
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