A set of steep, narrow concrete stairs leads down from the street level into the bowels of the building. City Basement Books occupies this subterranean space, which once functioned as the basement for a clothing manufacturer. Thousands of…
Melbourne Literary Walking Tour
This walk leads you through the heart of Melbourne's UNESCO City of Literature status, stopping at historic bookshops, rare editions dealers, and grand reading rooms.
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1. City Basement Books
2. The City Reader
The City Reader in Melbourne features a narrow storefront crowded with floor-to-ceiling stacks of secondhand books. It exists because the owner, David Vang, spent decades curating a collection that prioritizes obscure academic texts and…
3. Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller PTY LTD
The storefront at number two hundred and forty-one Collins Street features a grand, arched mahogany window that stretches toward the ceiling. Inside, Kay Craddock operates one of the oldest antiquarian bookshops in Melbourne, housed within…
4. Hill of Content Bookshop
The Hill of Content Bookshop features a narrow, multi-story facade on Bourke Street distinguished by its elegant, arched windows and deep red awnings. Founded in nineteen twenty-two by Albert Henry Spencer, the shop took its name from a…
5. The Paperback Bookshop
The Paperback Bookshop sits on Bourke Street with a narrow, unassuming frontage, distinguished by its black exterior and a glowing vertical sign that cuts through the dimness of the alleyway. It opened in nineteen sixty-three, claiming the…
6. Metropolis Bookshop
The Metropolis Bookshop occupies a quiet corner inside the Curtin House building on Swanston Street, distinguished by floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves packed with design, art, and architecture titles. It serves as a sanctuary for those…
7. State Library Victoria
The State Library Victoria anchors the block with an octagonal reading room topped by a massive reinforced concrete dome. When it opened in eighteen fifty-six, the library functioned as a colonial intellectual outpost. Sir Redmond Barry,…