# Portland | Places to Wander Canonical: https://artist.fyi/places/portland/ Publisher: The Corporate Artist (artist.fyi) Issue: Places to Wander, Issue 001. Published 2026-09-13. Four independent bookstores worth finding in person. If you're looking for the best independent bookstores in Portland, Places to Wander's edited guide includes Powell’s City of Books in West Burnside, Broadway Books in Northeast Broadway and Mother Foucault’s Bookshop in Central Eastside. Explore the selected shops below, with neighborhood context, drawings and links to each shop's own website. The guide is edited, not numerically ranked. ## Selected bookstores ### Powell’s City of Books A full city block, sixty-eight thousand square feet and about a million books, divided into nine colour-coded rooms. Walter Powell opened it in 1971, and a Pillar of Books stands at the corner entrance. - Neighborhood: West Burnside - Type: New and used - Specialty: New books · Used books · Many directions - Address: 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97209 - Official site: https://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books - Entry: https://artist.fyi/places/portland/#powells - Illustration: https://artist.fyi/places/assets/powells-portland-the-corporate-artist__marker__2026-09-12__v13.webp - Founded: 1971 The marquee is only the beginning. Powell’s City of Books puts new and used books together on a scale that rewards an unhurried visit. Choose one subject you came for and one you didn’t. Let the second have some say in where you go next. One subject you came for, one you didn't. Let the second one drive for a while. ### Broadway Books Opened on 15 May 1992 in a former furniture store on Northeast Broadway; Kim Bissell became its sole owner in 2024. - Neighborhood: Northeast Broadway - Specialty: New books · Staff selections · Events - Address: 1714 NE Broadway Street, Portland, OR 97232 - Official site: https://broadwaybooks.net/ - Entry: https://artist.fyi/places/portland/#broadway - Illustration: https://artist.fyi/places/assets/broadway-portland-the-corporate-artist__marker__2026-09-12__v13.webp - Founded: 1992 A window full of books beats a window full of promises. Broadway Books has been part of this street since 1992, pairing a changing selection with author events and neighborhood ties. Ask what the staff have been passing between themselves. A recommendation gives you a place to start. The next shelf can change it. ### Third Eye Books & Gifts Opened in 2019 by Lewis and Hannah, an African-centred bookshop whose shelves include an Ethiopian Bible. - Neighborhood: Southeast Portland - Specialty: Black literature · History · Children’s books - Address: 2518 SE 33rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97202 - Official site: https://thirdeyebag.com/ - Entry: https://artist.fyi/places/portland/#third-eye - Illustration: https://artist.fyi/places/assets/third-eye-portland-the-corporate-artist__marker__2026-09-12__v13.webp - Founded: 2019 History, fiction and books for younger readers meet at Third Eye. Its selection makes room for Black authors and perspectives across generations. Follow one subject through more than one kind of book; a novel and a history needn’t tell the same story to belong together. A novel and a history needn't tell the same story to share a shelf. ### Mother Foucault’s Bookshop Craig Florence opened it in 2010 after a spell as a Tumbleweed at Shakespeare and Company in Paris, in a building on the National Register, with no wifi. Michel Foucault’s centenary falls in October 2026 and the shop is marking it. - Neighborhood: Central Eastside - Type: Used and rare - Specialty: Used books · Rare books · Literature - Address: 715 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR 97214 - Official site: https://www.motherfoucaultsbookshop.com/ - Entry: https://artist.fyi/places/portland/#mother-foucault - Illustration: https://artist.fyi/places/assets/mother-foucault-portland__people-correction__2026-09-13__v37.webp - The Detour: this issue's editorial detour - Founded: 2010 Stacks gather on the table; shelves keep the conversation going. Mother Foucault’s is a used-and-rare bookshop on the Central Eastside. Let a title interrupt your plans. Some of the better ideas arrive without an appointment. ## Questions readers ask ### What are some of the best independent bookstores in Portland? Places to Wander's edited selection includes Powell’s City of Books, Broadway Books, Third Eye Books & Gifts and Mother Foucault’s Bookshop. The guide is not numerically ranked. Each entry explains why the shop is included and links to the shop's own website. ### What is The Detour in the Portland issue? Mother Foucault’s Bookshop in Central Eastside. Craig Florence opened it in 2010 after a spell as a Tumbleweed at Shakespeare and Company in Paris, in a building on the National Register, with no wifi. Michel Foucault’s centenary falls in October 2026 and the shop is marking it. The Detour is an editorial designation, not a ranking. ### Does the guide include used or rare bookstores? Yes. Powell’s City of Books (new and used) and Mother Foucault’s Bookshop (used and rare). Used, antiquarian and rare books are not interchangeable labels; this guide uses each description only where the shop's entry supports it. ### Which featured bookstores carry children's books? Third Eye Books & Gifts. ### Is there a map of the featured bookstores? Yes. The Portland issue includes a map and shop index. Select a shop to open its entry, then use the shop's official link for visiting details. The illustrated map is an orientation aid, not a turn-by-turn route. ## About this guide Places to Wander is an editorial field guide from The Corporate Artist to independent bookstores and bookshops worth finding in person. We look for independent shops with a point of view: exceptional selection, a meaningful specialty, a room worth experiencing, a role in its neighborhood, or the possibility of finding something you did not arrive looking for. The guides are edited, not numerically ranked. A bookstore does not have to stock The Corporate Artist to be included. A field guide from Morgan Sage Norman, author of The Corporate Artist, a book about creativity at work. Method and FAQ: https://artist.fyi/places/about.md · All cities: https://artist.fyi/places/index.md · Reading Room: https://artist.fyi/reading-room