Rizzoli Bookstore

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Art books in a plush setting worthy of the surrounding luxury stores and blue-chip galleries.. The Scene
This publisher and purveyor of art, architecture and design books was on Fifth Avenue for more than two decades; when it had to relocate, the architects responsible for the Rainbow Room were engaged to create equally extravagant quarters on West 57th Street: The carpets are custom-designed, and chandeliers hang from restored Adam-esque plaster ceilings.

The Goods
Downstairs you'll find the latest fiction and nonfiction, plus an international selection of periodicals. Upstairs are art, architecture and design books, including many a coffee-table-toppling monograph, skewed toward older and more established names. The staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable; even if they don't carry what you're looking for, they'll be happy to give you detailed instructions on where else in the city to find it.

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BryanMiller_Citysearch

Joined 11 years ago

The Bloomingdale's of Bookstores. This place is so formal you want to straighten your tie upon entering. It's not that the store has all that many books: Current releases and best-sellers up fron, fancy $50 cookbooks in the back, and a good selection of foreign magazines. Upstairs the emphasis is on art, architecture, photography and music. It's a nice place to visit even if you don't find anything appealing there.