The Oldest Surviving Westside Bookstore Will Be Gone By Mid-March<\/h1>\n

by Paul Hunt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alias Books, 1650 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles. Photos by Paul Hunt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alias Books, the longest surviving used bookstore on the Westside, will be closing in mid-March. \u00a0The property will be torn down so developers can put up a condo complex. The store began life in 1959 as the West L.A. Book Center, on the north side of Santa Monica Blvd. just west of Sawtelle. \u00a0The original owner, Ken Hyre ran the shop for 43 years. \u00a0I believe he moved onto Sawtelle sometime in the late 1970s, although I can’t remember the exact date. \u00a0Ken bought an old Masonic Temple and moved in with shelving and books. \u00a0Ken Hyre was a good friend of Eli Goodman, owner of Cosmopolitan Book Shop in Hollywood. \u00a0Together they published the “Price Guide to the Occult”, a comprehensive list of occult and metaphysical titles and their values.<\/p>\n

Eli Goodman with Price Guide to the Occult. Photo by Arnold Herr<\/p><\/div>\n

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In 2002 Hyre turned the business over to Brian Paeper, who has operated the shop ever since. \u00a0Ken’s death a couple years ago led to his daughter selling the building. \u00a0The bookstore is in a wonderful area, around the corner from the Nuart Theater, and on a street with restaurants and little shops. \u00a0Brian and his brother Patrick (who runs Alias Books East in the Atwater area) are discussing a possible new location, but with the sky-high rents in Los Angeles, prospects of this happening are dim.<\/p>\n

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Brian, a gentle man who loves books has started his closing sale, with books now at 40% off. \u00a0The store’s closing will be a loss to the cultural life of the Westside. \u00a0Brian has successfully guided the store through the years to supply great books to his customers, and offer the ambiance of a comfortable bookshop in the traditional sense, an opposite of the slick Barnes & Noble\/Walmart look. \u00a0His shop, open everyday and often late into the night, is a mecca for the westside lovers of books and literature.<\/p>\n

Brian Paeper. \u00a0Photo by Paul Hunt<\/p><\/div>\n

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Soon to be gone….<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Here’s a video shot at Alias Books, a salon with author Ben Pleasants, Bukowski biographer. \u00a0Click on the box below. This is Part 1<\/p>\n