Hi Louisville, Editor Declan here. Earlier this month, I started looking into W. K. Stewart, a bookstore that operated for nearly 100 years and was mentioned off-handedly in Kurt Vonnegut’s 1997 novella “Timequake.” When I asked readers like you to share your stories about the store, you delivered. Here are just a few of the responses I received:
Something special
“I remember several visits to the W. K. Stewart’s bookstore as a young person in the 1960s. The strongest memories include: the second floor balcony, filled with books on every wall, and the intricate ceiling tiles that seemed to be made out of copper.
There was something special about this bookstore, and I felt it each time I crossed the threshold. “
- Wade W.
Hardcovers on the balcony
“As a a young, voracious reader, I began frequenting the Readmore Books and Cards store on 4th Street near Broadway in 1961. Readmore sold paperbacks galore. The typical paperback sold for 35 cents then, as they boomed in popularity. Perfect for my teen budget. Leaving Readmore with paperbacks in hand, I would walk two blocks down to W. K. Stewart’s bookstore.
Stewart’s always struck me as “snooty.” They only sold hardcovers. I felt somewhat out of place among the genteel ladies browsing for the latest bestseller. My favorite place to go through their many shelves of books was the second floor, which was arranged on a balcony around an atrium. I appreciated the cool setting, although seldom did I purchase any books there.”
- Harry R.
Memories
“Adored W. K. Stewart’s. Started as under 12, child with grandmother. First hard back book and greeting cards and classic games.
Ladders, beautiful chairs, cozy. I could spend all Saturday morning there and they never minded. Still shopped there in my 30s before it moved.”
- Ann T.
Flights of fantasy
“I remember we’d stop in the Holiday Manor W. K. Stewart’s bookstore every couple of months during the mid 80s when I was in middle school. I loved rushing over to what was considered YA back then — the shelves full of Choose Your Own Adventure Books. My favorites were the Time Machine and Lone Wolf Series. It was a treat when they’d get a new one in stock.
My younger brother would gravitate to the picture books and we’d like flipping through Mercer Mayer ones. I remember the store being very quaint and friendly. I went to Ballard High School, which was practically next door and continued to feed my fantasy genre with Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books.”
- Chris G.
(If you’re a fan of the Dragonlance books like Chris, be sure to check out our interview with Kentucky’s own Larry Elmore, who drew plenty of Dragonlance book covers.)
There when you need it
“Do I remember W. K. Stewart’s? Boy do I ever! Haha. I have a memory burned into my mind of telling my mom one late Sunday in the late 1980s that I hadn’t bothered to read Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” and that my seventh-grade book report for the novel was due, of course, the very next day. So she drove (see, flew like a bat out of hell) my dumbass up to Holiday Manor in the hopes that W. K. Stewart’s A) would still be open, and more importantly, B) carried Cliff Notes.
They were, and they did, thankfully. I ran in, a couple of bucks shoved into my hand, and looked around for the unmistakable, signature yellow and black cover design. I can still remember that distinctive smell of the bookstore. The winter coat I was wearing. The one staff member patiently waiting for me to find what I was looking for so she could close up for the night. All of it burned into my mind.
I found it and sheepishly laid it on the counter (let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being that guy who purchases the one item in a bookstore, surrounded by books, that is in almost every conceivable way antithetical to books). I gave her my crumpled up money and raced back to my mother’s car still running (and parked illegally) I am sure.
But it all worked out. I managed to scratch out a C- on the book report. And years later obtain a degree in English of all things. Lol.”
- Chris
Bonus: As you may recall from our original story on WK Stewart, William Kerfoot Stewart was originally from Indianapolis. My collegue Shea, who writes our sister newsletter INDYtoday, did some digging on another location of the store up there, along with the company’s publishing pursuits. Check out her story here.
