Nestled in the center of Branchville, NJ within a beautiful historic building, the Broad Street Books used book shop breaths life and culture into a small town. The building itself was built in 1914 as the "First National Bank of Branchville", and the original bank vault (sans door) can still be found inside. From 1958 to 1973, the building was boarded up and used as a telephone switching station. At that point, it changed hands between various lawyers before winding up in the possession of the DiStefanos, the current owners. The building was even used as a filming location for the movie "The Poker Club." With a lot of time, effort, and love poured into the project, the DiStefanos have transformed the beautiful building into a peaceful book shop while maintaining the original historical architechture.
Just passing by Broad Street Books, one can't help but notice the beauty of the building. A cart of books on sale remains out front on the sidewalk during open hours, while chairs and a table under a tree out front beckon to people to stop and sit and read awhile. The front lobby of the building is breath-taking with its high ceiling and winding staircase up to a second floor balcony.
Inside the shop one can find books in just about any subject and genre, often discovering harder to find volumes among the shelves. Each section in the store is clearly marked, but you will still find yourself browsing the whole store. One of our favorite sections was "Local Authors" where you can find novels, short stories, and non-fiction works by residents of Branchville and the neighboring towns such as Keri L. Rand, the author of My Song and J.P. Grider, author of The Honor Trilogy. One can definitely go a little crazy picking out books to purchase, but fortunately the prices all range from only $5 to $10 - and some of the children's books are even cheaper!
If there is a more specific book or cd that you are looking for, or if you simply do not live in the area, you can browse Broad Street Books' huge selection of items for sale on their online inventory. The store in Branchville is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm from Monday thru Saturday. Follow Broad Street Books on Facebook for store updates.
Phone : 862-268-5184
Wonderful review. Broad Street Books is everything you said it was. It is so cozy and inviting. And I adore their local author section and book signing events. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to read! We changed up the local reader part a little, so you may want to look through it again...and SHARE ;) If you ever have an event anywhere near Greater Philadelphia, let us know, and we'll pass the info on to our readers!
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