#10. Old Florida Bookshop

Jan 23

📚 OLD FLORIDA BOOKSHOP

📍 LOCATION: 3426 Griffin Road, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA 🇺🇸

🕰 HOURS: online indicates 11am-6pm (Mon-Sat), 1-6pm (Sun) ~ however ~ when we arrived during this window, the shop was closed with “HOURS BY CHANCE” etched on the glass door, so may the odds ever be in your favour :)

📲 SOCIAL LINKS:

Florida isn’t necessarily the first place that comes to mind when I think of a bibliophile’s paradise, but the Old Florida Bookshop is a true literature lover’s utopia.

It’s the kind of hidden gem that needs to be seen to be believed. Initially, I thought we might have been catfished when we turned off the highway and pulled up to the bookshop at the end of a small strip mall. From the outside, it’s unassuming. Nothing struck me as particularly special except for an outdoor display of paperbacks for sale on the honour system with a sign that said: “Any book, your choice, $1 each. Please leave payment in the mail slot. Thank you!”

However, upon opening the door, I felt like I’d touched a magical Harry Potter portkey and transported back in time.

You’re immediately hit with the nostalgia of a bygone era, the crackling of classical music, and the unmistakable musk of old books. Although the bookshop is narrow and the quarters cramped with floor-to-ceiling books, the sliding ladders along the twenty-foot high mahogany bookshelves give the illusion of grandeur.

Home to over 30,000 rare books, antique maps, and vintage prints, the Old Florida Bookshop is a treasure trove of hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

Open since 1978, the owner, William Chrisant, is a walking encyclopedia and handpicks every book. His expertise and knowledge has garnered him a standing in the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and made the Old Florida Bookshop a paragon for book lovers.

Peter, the bookshop cat, is a celebrity in his own right with an appropriately curmudgeonly attitude. You’ll find him slithering between stacks, perched in a desk drawer, or climbing the wooden ladder to get a better view from the top shelves of the visitors infiltrating his domain.

For any bookworm who finds themselves in South Florida, the Old Florida Bookshop is a must visit.