Midnight Special Finds New Home Downtown

By Jorge Casuso and Erica Williams

May 11 -- Nearly three months after being forced out by skyrocketing rents, the Midnight Special bookstore will be reopening its doors around the corner from the Promenade storefront it had occupied for a decade.

A counterculture retail icon known for its politically charged window displays, the independent bookstore will pull its books out of storage and move to 1450 Second Street, owner Margie Ghiz announced in an email sent over the weekend to customers and supporters.

“The Midnight Special Bookstore has found a new place!” she wrote. “We are planning a grand opening season with great events to invite you back.

“We are thinking of trying some new things, so you'll have to come help us work them out,” said the announcement, which was also posted on the bookstore’s Web site beside bold white letters proclaiming “We Have a New Home.” “For those of you who can, we will need help with the move.”

City officials -- who have been hammering out ways to retain the one-of-a-kind establishments exemplified by Midnight Special -- welcomed the news.

“That’s exciting. That’s great,” said Mayor Richard Bloom. “That’s one of the unique aspects of the city, and it’s good to know that they found a home and they’re staying. It’s one of the last remaining independent bookstores, so it’s great.”

Midnight Special’s announced move, Bloom noted, comes just months after Hennessey and Ingalls, an independent bookstore renowned for its selection of art and architecture books, announced it would stay in Downtown Santa Monica after being pushed off the Promenade by escalating rents.

“That’s going to keep Downtown interesting,” said Bloom. “Who knows, maybe it’s a trend. Keep your fingers crossed.”

Downtown officials said Midnight Special’s move would help enliven Second Street, which is lined with office buildings.

“We’re delighted that she could find a home Downtown,” said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of the Bayside District, which runs the Downtown. “It’s a great bookstore. It’s going to be great for Second Street.”

The reopening of Midnight Special -- which is known for its left-wing political activism a much as for its wide selection of counter-culture titles -- comes at a critical time, said Ghiz, who posted a sign on the storefront of the shuttered shop that read: "We Shall Rise Again."

“I believe these are very dangerous times to be without every possible avenue of real information; it has been hard not being able to be there when we are needed,” Ghiz wrote in her email.

“It has been even harder not being a part of the most exciting peace movement our world has ever seen,” she added. “We look forward to re-joining you all!”

Opened in Venice 33 years ago, Midnight Special has been kept afloat by more than 100,000 hours of donated labor and the generosity of Wally Marks Jr., the store's longtime benefactor, whose family subsidized its tenure on the Promenade over the last decade.

For its clients, Midnight Special is more than a bookstore, it is a cultural Mecca that hosts an average of 25 monthly readings, presentations and meetings, 11 of them part of ongoing series.

For nearly a year, Ghiz has been scrambling to find a new home in Santa Monica or Hollywood, cities, she said, that typically welcome all.

"I don't want to lose that ability to reach people," Ghiz told The Lookout when the bookstore shut down in February.

During her search -- which Ghiz said was frustrated by landlords who can afford to keep their buildings empty -- Midnight Special temporarily housed its books at a storage facility in North Long Beach. Meanwhile, Ghiz worked to find interim jobs for her staff, many of whom will return when the store reopens.

“Thank you for the phone calls, thank you for the letters, thank you for the e-mail, thank you for leaving notes on the old storefront, thank you for the words of support on our website,” Ghiz wrote in her email. “Thank you for reminding us that the Midnight Special is still here. WE'LL SEE YOU SOON.”