The biggest bookstores and libraries in North America

While some have closed, there are still many bookstores and libraries to support

Bigger is not always better. But when it comes to bookstores, square footage tells something about the situation.

At one time, there were many mega-bookstores across North America. A 154,250-square-foot Barnes & Noble store on Fifth Avenue in New York City was not only the largest in North America, but among the most expansive in the world. It was a community center and networking place, as much as a site to browse books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, CDs, and more.

But in 2014, that store closed. The same year, the 64,000-square-foot World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto — one of Canada’s largest — also shut its doors. Borders, a competitor of Barnes & Noble that also operated Waldenbooks, closed in 2011.

While many bookstores that remain often serve as community centers as well, the online platforms and escalating real estate costs have led to numerous brick sites slimming down. That’s what makes it interesting to discover what bookstores are still as big as ever.

These days, Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Ore., is the largest private bookstore in North America that I have located. The 68,000-square-foot flagship store occupies a full city block in downtown Portland. The family-owned business began in 1971 and has added several other stores in Oregon, surviving through the pandemic, Great Recession, and other trying times.

Powell’s City of Books in Portland is the largest bookstore in North America in square footage. [Cacophony photo/ Creative Commons]

Here is the list of private bookstores I compiled based on independent research. If something is not accurate or you found one that should be on this list, please let me know. It should be a single store in which books are the primary sales item, not a combination of stores, or ones that mostly sell other goods.

Largest private bookstores, North America, 2022
Bookstore ………………………….... City ………………… Square feet

Powell’s City of Books ……….… Portland, OR ………………. 68,000
Barnes & Noble, Union Square …. New York City ………..….. 62,000
Strand Bookstore ………………… NYC ………………………. 55,000
Half Price Books ………………. Dallas, TX …………………… 54,000
John K. King Books ……………. Detroit, MI ………………….. 45,000
McKay’s ………………………… Nashville, TN ……………….. 31,000…