The Last Bookstore, Used and antiquarian bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles, United States
The Last Bookstore occupies the 22,000-square-foot former bank at 453 S Spring Street in the Spring Arts Tower, Downtown Los Angeles, and has two floors, the old vault among them. Josh Spencer opened it here on June 3, 2011, after starting in a loft in 2005. Creative displays and book sculptures fill the space, and a plant wall was added to the book tunnel in 2021.
The bookstore was founded in 2005 starting in a Downtown loft before moving to the Spring Arts Tower in 2011. This relocation allowed the space to expand and integrate additional creative venues under one roof.
The store's name comes from a joke among its founders about being the last bookstore standing. Josh Spencer, who lost the use of his legs after an accident in his youth, opened it in 2005; filmmaker Chad Howitt made a 2016 documentary about him, Welcome to the Last Bookstore. The shop appeared in Gone Girl and Under the Silver Lake, and a Yuko Kitchen restaurant operates inside.
The bookstore sits one block from the Pershing Square metro station and opens daily to visitors. Wear comfortable shoes since there is plenty to explore across multiple floors.
The former bank vault is part of the two-floor store rather than a reading nook. In 2021 a plant wall was added to the book tunnel, and the shop also holds a Yuko Kitchen restaurant. Filmmaker Chad Howitt's 2016 short documentary Welcome to the Last Bookstore follows founder Josh Spencer, who lost the use of his legs after an injury in his youth.
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