Bookshop House, Architectural landmark on Broad Street and Odunlami Street in Lagos Island, Nigeria.
Bookshop House is a modern building located at the corner of Broad Street and Odunlami Street on Lagos Island, designed with transparent walls and bright interior spaces. Multiple floors inside are entirely dedicated to displaying and distributing literature and educational materials in an open layout.
The structure was built in 1973 by architects Godwin and Hopwood on the site of a former CMS missionary store that had been selling Bibles since the 1850s. This replacement signaled a shift in Lagos toward modern commercial architecture and new approaches to public commercial spaces.
The bookshop functions as a gathering place for readers and writers across Lagos, reflecting the city's active literary scene. You will see people browsing and engaging in author meetings that happen regularly within the space.
The building sits in the commercial heart of Lagos Island and is easy to reach on foot from downtown areas. The transparent walls allow you to see inside from the street, making it simple to find what you need when entering.
The building features clean lines and steel elements in the international style, making it an early example of modern design in West African commerce. These design choices were unusual for commercial structures of that era and showed new directions in Nigerian construction.
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