Brentano's
Logo in the book Primary Education, 1916
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| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Fate | absorbed into Borders Group in the U.S.; liquidated in the U.S. |
| Founded | 1853 |
| Founder | August Brentano |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Products | Books, magazines, comic books, maps, calendars, paintings, stationery |
| Owner | Farock Sharifi |
| Website | www.librairie-brentanos-paris.com |
Brentano's was an American bookstore and had numerous locations in the United States,.
As of the 1970s, there were three Brentano's in NY, the Fifth Avenue flagship store in Rockefeller Center, one in Greenwich Village, and one in White Plains. There was a store in the Bergen Mall (Paramus NJ) which closed as the Short Hills, NJ store was being built. There was a store in the Chestnut Hill area of Boston, another in Austin, Texas. There were also three stores in Southern California; in Westwood Village, Beverly Hills and Costa Mesa. There were two stores outside of Wahington, DC: one in the Seven Corners shopping center in Falls Church, Virginia, and another in Prince Georges Plaza in Maryland.
Brentano's was owned by Macmillan in the 1970s and early 1980s, before being purchased by three of Brentano's higher ranking employees. Soon after, Brentano's became a part of the Waldenbooks subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc., an Ann Arbor, Michigan–based book and music retailer.
Brentano's was founded as an independent bookstore in New York City in 1853 by August Brentano, who established a newsstand in front of the New York Hotel.
The first branch store for the company was opened in Washington, D.C. in 1883. A year later, a second branch store was opened in Chicago in 1884.
Simon Brentano served as president of the firm until his death in 1915. He was replaced by his brother Arthur.
By 1928, Brentano's had four stores outside of New York City in Washington, Chicago, London, and Paris. On the eve of the Great Depression, the firm expanded rapidly to become the largest bookstore chain in the nation with four stores in New York City, plus single stores in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington. Unfortunately, the firm acquired a lot of debt in the process and its creditors forced the company to reorganize in 1930 while still allowing the Brentano family to manage the chain. Even though the company continued to have cash flow problems, the company went ahead and opened their tenth store within the United States in Pittsburgh in 1930.
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