Stacks and stacks of books line four floors of Moe’s Bookstore.

One never just stops in at Moe’s. It’s not a break on the way to lunch, or a lecture on campus. For a book lover, or a person who loves words, Moe’s is a destination.

In the early 80’s when I first started visiting Berkeley on weekend trips from where I lived on the Central Coast, visiting Moe’s was the highlight of the weekend. I would start on the bottom floor to look through old novels, to see what was new (new books here are discounted a bit), and peruse the science fiction stack. Then on to the mezzanine to flip through art books, cookbooks, and over sized novels. Only occasionally did I make it up to the third floor, where I could find used tomes on Buddhist philosophy or archaeology, culture, or language. The fourth floor? I’ve only dared to go once to the fourth floor. The floor of antiquities and rare finds. (I don’t dare go there only because my small wallet won’t allow it.)

Then, when I moved to Berkeley, it became a Saturday pilgrimage. After dance class I would make my way to Telegraph Ave to pore over the titles that had come in during the week, to find something I hadn’t yet seen or read. Bookstore regulars head to the carts in the aisles first, that’s where the new arrivals sit before they get put away into the stacks. Even as I sit here writing this I look at my stack of books in my own bookcases and realize that most of them came from Moe’s.

Moe’s is named after the original owner of the store, Morris Moskowitz. Moe died in 1997, but his spirit can still be felt in the store. Little reminders of him are everywhere. A sculpted bust sits in the corner at the bottom of the stairs, a poster or two in the stairwell.

The bookstore (and Moe too) saw the second half of Berkeley’s history first hand. The store opened in 1959 and has been located on Telegraph Ave, between Dwight and Channing, since 1963. It experienced, whether purposefully or not, the Free Speech Movement, the Anti-War Movement (all of them), and the following Copy Cat Movements – those events that happen when nothing else is going on, but being Berkeley, something needs to be done about it. It has seen the days when business in the neighborhood was booming, and when it wasn’t. It has been a neighbor to The Reprint Mint and survived the demise of long time independent bookstores Cody’s and Shambahla. It has stood for years across the street from one of the city’s oldest cafes, The Med.

Moe’s used to have the aroma of old books mixed with cigars. Moe smoked cigars endlessly as he worked, he always had one in his mouth. Now, with Moe gone, the old book aroma predominates …

Moe’s Books
2476 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley CA 94704

T: 510.849.2087
books AT moesbooks DOT com
Open 10am – 10pm every day

You can read more about the Moe and the history of the store on their web site.

Similar posts that you might like:

• >> Berkeley Bookstores

 

• >> Cody’s Is In The Past

 

• >> San Francisco Bookstores

 

• >> Chaat and Chat Holiday Fair In Berkeley

 

• >> rupa & the april fishes At Ashkenaz