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Walter Otto Koenig | all galleries >> PaD: Zuihitsu >> February 2011 > February 19
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19-FEB-2011 Walter O. Koenig

February 19

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The End of an Era

Borders Books and Music defined the Book Super Store of the 80's and 90's with its huge selection and signature Cafes.
Sadly the company which had not made a profit since 2006 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 16.
The next day it was announced that many of its stores would close including this one at the corner of 6th and G St. in downtown San Diego.
Today a sale was held to liquidate the merchandise of this store. We stopped by briefly more to watch the crowds than to look for bargains.
Adelaida and I are both bibliophiles so we are sad to see this store which was a part of our daily life and the daily life of so many others close.

The image above was also taken for the Weekly Informal Challenge (Week 45): "Daily Life"

Check out images of other participants here

Nikon D700 ,Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
1/320s f/7.1 at 14.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
Carl and Racine Erland23-Feb-2011 04:53
Great perspective and a beautiful building...sad news when a local favourite closes
its doors. - Racine
Jola Dziubinska22-Feb-2011 23:33
Great pov and perspective, thanks for the story.
Ray Rebortira22-Feb-2011 01:38
Welcome Nook, welcome Kindle; goodbye Borders.
Ed McConnell22-Feb-2011 01:30
sad to see it happen..the two in our area will be staying open..for now.
BleuEvanescence21-Feb-2011 20:42
Sad indeed... it is more than just another store that closes.
But, luckily for us, You made this majestic image out and you immortalized something...
J. Scott Coile21-Feb-2011 19:50
Our rapidly accelerating world. Hard to keep up with the pace of change sometimes.
Guest 21-Feb-2011 16:28
Wonderful idea although sad andgreat pov composition. Nicely handled picture.
j>a>e>17 :):):)21-Feb-2011 05:19
i am a book addcit as welll & AWEways willl be!!!! recently 2 of my fav borders have closed!!!! just insane how lost countless are... anywhooo, techno readers willl NEVER replace boooks for me :):):):)
Sandra Cooper21-Feb-2011 02:25
Yes, it is a sad sign of the times; Borders and Angus and Robertson have both folded here in Melbourne too.
Inga Morozoff21-Feb-2011 01:46
Times are changing I'm afraid...
Janice Dunn20-Feb-2011 19:35
Yes, very sad.
We have just learnt that all Borders and Whitcoulls stores in New Zealand and Australia are now also closing... as of last Friday...
Guest 20-Feb-2011 16:17
I'm really not confortable with borders. Any kind!
Norbert Fortelny20-Feb-2011 15:41
I read about that. Sad, but times change, gotta move on...
Wolfgang Bluhm20-Feb-2011 15:04
Excellent image. Analysts are saying they went under because they didn't handle the digital revolution well (music downloads, electronic readers). Yes, they WERE the superstore, and now another (amazon.com) has done them in. Sad indeed.
pkocinski20-Feb-2011 14:13
The two stores here in my area are staying open. It surprises me based on their locations because they are both in areas where hi tech is big.
Doug Cruden20-Feb-2011 13:34
What a sad sign of the times....agree with Ray, we're seeing similar things in the UK as well. If anybody else tells me Kindles et al are the way to go and hard-copy is deader than a dodo, I'll personally hit them over the head with all 3000+ pages of my Penguin three-volume copy of "À la recherche du temps perdu"....
Stephanie20-Feb-2011 09:54
I heard that about Borders as well. Looks as though the Kindles are going to rule the world.... So sad.
marie-jose wolff20-Feb-2011 09:36
Beautiful and charming corner store,
I share your sadness about the closing... V
Gerard Koehl20-Feb-2011 08:35
Excellent avec ce cadrage...V
Paolo Peggi (aka Bracciodiferro)20-Feb-2011 08:33
Great capture! V
Paolo
Cindi Smith20-Feb-2011 06:20
Fantastic image here, Walter. I'm so sorry it is closing. I just don't understand. You did this store justice with your image.
Wei O'Connell20-Feb-2011 05:33
It's very sad!!! I just love to read real books and news papers.
Carol Rollins20-Feb-2011 05:11
That really is sad. We love Borders and we hate to see them go under.
laine20-Feb-2011 04:44
Yep, they've folded here along with our old Angus and Robertson just this week....:(
Bryan Murahashi20-Feb-2011 04:32
Sad about this closing. Looks like a great corner store.
Carla Resh20-Feb-2011 03:25
wow interesting. great shot. too bad about the business. Blockbusters video stores are not too far behind....
sue anne20-Feb-2011 02:25
I didn't know this about Borders. ):
And as the Kindle takes over, there is nothing like a good 'real' book !
Ray :)20-Feb-2011 02:12
The Borders business in the UK fell apart in 2009, although they only had branches in the larger cities.
Our largest book retailer I think is Waterstones which ironically is owned by HMV, our biggest "record shop". You are certainly right to say that business models are changing and amazon appear to have hedged their bets with both the kindle and their online book business.
FrankB20-Feb-2011 02:06
sad sad sad.....can B&N be far behind?....the last 10 years have seen many business models go obsolete.....V
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