Midnight Special Bookstore
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Retail |
Genre | focus on left-wing politics |
Founded | Venice, California, United States (1970 ) |
Defunct | June 2, 2004[1] |
Fate | Dissolved |
Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 1 |
Key people | Margie Ghiz, final owner[2] |
Products | book retailer |
Website | www.msbooks.com (defunct) |
The Midnight Special Bookstore was an independent bookstore in southern California. It catered to a leftist clientele.[3][4] Its merchandise and events emphasized current events such as the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War,[5] the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,[6] the Chinese democracy movement[7] and U.S. intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq.[8]
History
[edit]Founded in 1970 as a co-op in Venice,[3] the shop "was run predominantly by volunteers" until around 1985.[5]
In 1980[5] it moved from Venice to 1350 Third Street [9] (also known as 1350 Santa Monica Mall[10]) in Santa Monica, then in 1992[5] moved again to 1318 Third Street Promenade.[11][12] For more than ten years, the mall's landlord charged the shop less rent than other tenants were paying,[13] but with a change in management and success in attracting upscale tenants, the mall operator asked for an increase that would "more than double"[2] the rent. For this reason, the bookstore moved out of its Third Street location in March 2003.[4] Its stock was kept in storage for eight months. In November 2003,[8][14][15] the store reopened at 1450 Second Street[16][17][18] in Santa Monica, then finally closed around June 2, 2004.[1] Its owner cited weak sales and continuing financial difficulties as the reason for closing:
Unfortunately, the delay was too great and our debts grew with the delays. Only local outlets of major chains can afford the losses that come with opening stores; even though our sales were steadily growing, it was not fast enough to keep us going until we could sustain ourselves.[1]
Authors who appeared at the shop:
- Cecilia Brainard[19]
- Octavia Butler[5]
- bell hooks[5]
- Paulo Coelho[5]
- Slavoj Žižek[5]
- Eduardo Galeano[5]
- Viggo Mortensen[5][20][21]
- Dave Eggers[5]
- Elaine Brown[5]
- Lalo Alcaraz[5]
- Walter Mosley[5]
- Trinh Minh-ha[5]
- Edward Said[5]
- Junko Mizuno[5]
- Margaret Randall[5]
- Maya Angelou[5]
- Tariq Ali[5]
- Michael Ventura[22]
- Paul Krassner[4]
- Tavis Smiley[23]
- consumer advocate David Horowitz[24]
- Bernadette Devlin
Among other people who made appearances at the shop were filmmakers Robert Greenwald[22] and Oliver Stone,[5] actor David Warshofsky,[22] Elaine Brown of the Black Panther Party, UCLA professor Khaled Abou El Fadl; and musicians Dave Marsh, Jello Biafra, Frank Zappa[5] and Ray Manzarek.[25]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "The Midnight Special Says Goodbye and Thank You". Archived from the original on June 7, 2004. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Tawa, Renee (2003-02-21). "Midnight Special Bookstore going; but where? – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ a b "Last Chapter for an Iconic Bookstore – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2004-05-09. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ a b c Al Martinez (2003-03-07). "A poignant farewell to a radical refuge – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "History of the Midnight Special Bookstore". Archived from the original on June 19, 2004. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Haithman, Diane (1994-09-10). "Mideast Pact Adds Meaning to Tonight's 'Voices' Program – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ Miller, Michelle M. (1989-06-08). "Crisis in China Translates Into New Reader Interest – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ a b "Everlovin' Lights Are Back On at Midnight Special | Bookselling This Week". News.bookweb.org. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ Jake Doherty (2007-09-03). "WESTLAKE : Pictures Worth a Thousand Vacuums". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Novelists to Appear at Santa Monica Bookstore Sunday – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 1987-08-28. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "BRIEFLY : Politics: Speech on N. Ireland Conflict – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 1994-03-10. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Midnight Special Bookstore Santa Monica". Citysearch.
- ^ "Customers Rally Around the Store as Midnight Special Announces Upcoming Move | Bookselling This Week". News.bookweb.org. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Santa_Monica_News_Midnight Special Bookstore Opens New Chapter". Surfsantamonica.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Midnight Special Bookstore to Close Its Doors | Bookselling This Week". News.bookweb.org. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Midnight Special Bookstore". 2004-06-29. Archived from the original on June 29, 2004. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Midnight Special Bookstore – Santa Monica, California – Yahoo! Travel". Travel.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Midnight Special Book Store in Santa Monica | Midnight Special Book Store (310) 393-2923 & 1450 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401 | – Yahoo! US Local". Local.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Final Event at Midnight Special". LAObserved. 2004-11-04. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
- ^ "Little press shines with star power – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2004-03-03. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Viggo Mortensen > Midnight Special Bookstore". Chucks888.freeservers.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ a b c "Goodnight Midnight". Archived from the original on June 7, 2004. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Tavis Smiley to Sign, Discuss 'Hard Left' – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 1996-08-17. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "Horowitz to Discuss Life as a Reporter – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2001-09-27. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- ^ "From The Vault weblog archives for July, 2011". Retrieved 2013-01-28.
- Bookstores in California
- Independent bookstores of the United States
- Companies based in Los Angeles
- Venice, Los Angeles
- Companies based in Santa Monica, California
- Bookstores established in the 20th century
- American companies established in 1970
- Retail companies established in 1970
- Retail companies disestablished in 2004
- 1970 establishments in California
- 2004 disestablishments in California
- Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
- Defunct retail companies of the United States