The prestigious, and much beloved, Rizzoli bookstore in New York is moving.
The building where the bookstore is housed, at 31 West 57th Street, will be demolished, it was announced.
Rizzoli said in a statement that the library will not close down: “The Rizzoli Bookstore is, and will remain, open for business at its current location for the time being, though the company is actively seeking new space. For almost fifty years - twenty-nine in its current 57th Street location - Rizzoli Bookstore has been widely considered one of the foremost independent booksellers in America. Rizzoli Bookstore has been, and will continue to be a literary landmark in New York City, and a celebrated destination for important authors and booklovers from all over the world. Rizzoli has been touched by the outpouring of public appreciation for the 57th Street bookstore as an important part of New York City’s cultural life, and looks forward to remaining a vital part of the city’s fabric for many decades to come.”
Opened in 1964, the famous bookstore features three floors of cherry wood lined with beautiful historical books, and has been used many times as a film location, most notably Woody Allen's "Manhattan" and “Falling in Love,” starring Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep.
The Rizzoli bookstore is described as “a six story townhouse exhibiting on its façade a sober classicism that belies the elegant interior within, where cast iron chandeliers, ornately decorated vaulting, and a luminous Diocletian window create a serene setting for booklovers amidst the rush of Midtown Manhattan.”
The bookstore’s collection of books is specialized in illustrated subjects – fashion, interior design, art, architecture, photography, design – and literature, in Italian, French, Spanish, and English.
When Italian publisher and film producer Angelo Rizzoli opened it in 1964, the bookstore was located on Fifth Avenue; it moved to its current location in 1985, so this would be its second move.
