If there is one thing that Portland, Oregon, does well, it is serve up a good cup of coffee to go along with a book on a rainy day. And there is no better place in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, or perhaps even the world, to find that perfect book than at Powell’s City of Books.
Powell’s sits in the heart of downtown Portland and has been a destination for bibliophiles for generations now.
The bookstore itself encompasses an entire city block and consists of 10 color-coded rooms and 3,500 individual sections filled with books from science fiction to cooking to children’s books to the rarest of the rare.
Getting to Powell’s
Powell’s location off of Burnside in downtown Portland makes it easy to get to by nearly any means of transportation.
One of the best ways is to hop on the streetcar, which runs right by the building.
Powell’s has its own dedicated parking lot, although it tends to fill up on busier weekends. Luckily, though, there is often plentiful street parking available within a few blocks of the store. We have had our best luck looking for spots just to the north of the building. Make sure to watch out for the street car tracks, though, as a poorly parked car can mean an expensive towing bill if it blocks the line.
Exploring Powell’s City of Books
When visitors first arrive at this sprawling destination, they’ll find themselves in a large lobby, which is the perfect place to shake off the rain. This room has shirts, gifts, best sellers, and other grab-and-go type merchandise.
From there, the world is your oyster, and it is easy to get lost along the long hallways of books that stretch from the floor to the ceiling.
Interspersed within the shelves, you’ll find both new arrivals alongside well-loved books that sometimes date back decades.
On a recent trip to Powell’s, we were in the kid’s section and stumbled upon some Boy Scout manuals from the 1970s!
One of our favorite sections to browse is Orange Room, which holds gardening, cooking, how-to, and new arrivals. There is always an interesting assortment of books, both new and old, to discover in this area to spark a new hobby or expand on an existing one.
The real gem of the store though, provided you visit without kids which, unfortunately, rarely happens for us anymore, is the rare book room.
Located on the top floor, the rare books allow a limited number of visitors in at a time. Once inside, you can browse through their collection of first editions, signed copies, and other hard-to-find books from around the world. Some of these books are relatively affordable, while others may leave your jaw on the floor at the price.
Take A Break at the Coffee Shop
No trip to the bookstore is complete without sitting down with a completely appropriate or comically oversized (there is no in-between) stack of books to peruse. Luckily for you, there is a coffee shop right inside the bookstore that is perfect for deciding just how many gardening books you really need.
Our favorite seats in the shop are on the grandstand-style seating or, if you’re lucky, along the large plate glass windows that look out onto Burnside. Here, the people-watching can often be just as entertaining as the books you’re looking through.
