Civic Center Book Shop: "For Lovers of Old Books"

"He’s sort of a crazy guy," said Walter Goldwater about Irving Binkin, the proprietor of Civic Center Book Shop, in New York City Bookshops in the 1930s and 1940s: The Recollections of Walter Goldwater. "And has a great big bookshop with a lot of stuff in it."

The "great big bookshop with a lot of stuff in it," Civic Center Book Shop was a niche but quite popular independent bookstore in Brooklyn Heights. Over the decades of its existence, the bookstore had several addresses, including 30 Myrtle Avenue, 32 Myrtle Avenue near Pearl Street, and later 250 Fulton Street. The featured photograph of Civic Center Book Shop, the "Photo of the Week," was taken by John D. Morrell on December 15, 1958, at the bookstore's Pierrepont Street location near Fulton Street. The photograph can be found in the John D. Morrell Photograph Collection and online in the Center for Brooklyn History's digital collection of photographs.

By the time Irving Binkin opened Civic Center Book Shop at 32 Myrtle Avenue in the spring of 1950, he had been "a book dealer for 22 years," according to an article in a Sunday edition of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 7, 1950, Page 56. "He was formerly located at 30 Myrtle Ave., specializing in private libraries and old editions." Indeed, much of the stock at Civic Center Book Shop were "books and papers" purchased by Binkin "from old estates in Brooklyn," reported Margaret Mara in her article "Finding History in Unlikely Places," published in her column Living in Brooklyn in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 19, 1953, Page 9. In her article, Mara went on to say:

"For lovers of old books, there is no other place in Brooklyn like Mr. Binkin's. He has just purchased the complete library of a borough physician, lately demised. In addition to medical books, the collection includes valuable works on philosophy,  anthropology, social sciences and history.

I also noted Ida Tarbell's two-volume work on the Life of Lincoln and the works of D. H. Lawrence, in the varied collection of fine books."

Loyal customers of Civic Center Book Shop considered its "varied collection of fine books" a virtual treasure trove of literature that appeased diverse tastes. In an August 12, 1954, letter To the Editor of the Eagle, Lester E. Dennon said:

"Your recent informative article about the Civic Center Book Store is much appreciated by those of us who have found its shelves over the years a happy hunting ground for books on many subjects. It remains a welcome spot on the Heights for those who do not need book club editorial boards to dictate their choice of mental fair."

In addition to selling books and other carefully curated print materials, Civic Center Book Shop also hosted book exhibits. In 1954, the bookstore was the site of an exhibit of "rare old books reflecting women's interests through 200 years" at its then location of 162 Pierrepont St, near Fulton St," reported Elizabeth Lips in her August 6, 1954, article "Centuries of Sewing, Baking, Crafts in Book Exhibit," published on Page 9 of the "What Women Are Doing" section of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. "The books," said Lips, "cover every possible subject, from the recognition and collecting of genuine antiques to embroidering zebras in needlepoint. They show you how to make lace, discuss the 'mystery and lure' of perfume, divulge succulent old recipes and cover evey aspec of the history of costuming." She reported that "the exhibit will continue through August."

Irving Binkin, proprietor of Civic Center Book Shop, was born in Russia on June 25, 1906. He died at the age of 83 on November 3, 1989. He owned and operated his independent bookstore in Brooklyn Heights from at least the 1950s into the 1970s. A February 11, 1971, Brooklyn Heights Press article describes Binkin as "38 years a Heights residence" and features a photograph of him dancing in Civic Center Book Shop with bookstore employee Mara Lopez. Though called "sort of crazy" by Walter Goldwater, Binkin was clearly crazy about books, a passionate collector, a lover of life, and in love with his bookstore. Brooklyn Heights residents were, too.

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