Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle

Elliott Bay Book Company occupies a wonderful antique building in Pioneer Square, the oldest part of downtown Seattle. The interior brickwork of the building sets a mood of earthiness and elegance, which is further expressed in the vintage woodwork, well-placed lighting, and a seemingly endless series of cavernous rooms, all filled with carefully chosen books. Happy readers crowd the store, perusing the literary delights upstairs and imbibing the pastry, quiche, lasagna, hot and cold libations in the Honey Bear Bakery Cafe downstairs.

Elliott Bay Book Company occupies the ground floor and basement
of this turn-of-the-century building at the corner of First and Main Streets.

The entrance seen from First Street

Tree-lined, historic First Street

The building directly east of the store on Main Street is equally old and well-restored

With appropriately antique electric trollies serving the area...

...and lovely old Pioneer Square across the street.

A custom-made stained glass window over the front entrance

Example of the antique brickwork in the doorway
from the lecture room to the cafe

The front room, with staircase down to the cafe and check-out counter to the rear

The middle room, see from the art book balcony

Two more rooms beyond the middle room, and I am told there are more!

Close to the front door are books by
visiting authors.

The store publishes a calendar of readings and talks, of which there are twenty-five listed for the month of July, each with a paragraph illuminating the book and its maker for those choosing which events to attend. Of mine they wrote: " Alicia Bay Laurel was but a few years out of high school when, in 1971, her handwritten and drawn guide to what was then called counter-cultural living, Living On The Earth, was published. That book--thirty years and 350,000 copies ago--played a part in how books were designed, imagined and published that resulted in major changes for the book world as a whole. Alicia Bay Laurel is here tonight with a new revised and expanded, 30th anniversary edition of Living On The Earth (Villard), an evening that will include music and talk."

Lovely Samantha worked as coordinator for the event.
Before she came to Elliott Bay Book Company, she worked
at an equally reknown book store, Tattered Covers in Denver.

I enjoyed myself sharing the story of the two editions of the book...

...and illustrating the story with songs I wrote during those years.

The people who came humored me in my request for a photo for my web site at the end of my story,
and they seem to have enjoyed my presentation as much as I enjoyed sharing it with them.
Luana and her mother Anna, (second row on left) who I met at the Fremont Sunday Market, came to see me
again and bought a book. Luana wants me to offer my event as a one-woman show in a small theatre.
Bernie sits in the front row flanked by her best friend, Patra (in green), and Lloyd (the young man in blue)
who is an aspiring writer. Janet and Tim (standing at far right) brought in first editions of my children's books
and the poetry book I illustrated in 1972, The Earth Mass, to be signed. They said their kids hadn't colored in the books
completely, so they are saving them for the grandchildren. Indah (seated, on the left) bought a print for her art gallery.