Skyline Books Closes

From the NY Times Jan 31,2010-
SKYLINE BOOKS opened 20 years ago at 13 West 18th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas, a part of the already diminished Book Row. The owner, Rob Warren, who favors long hair and a tan beret, kept an eclectic inventory that tended toward Beat literature, photography and design. As his monthly rent gradually rose from $2,500 to $8,000, Mr. Warren paid the bills by selling signed first editions, earning $100,000 for a copy of “The Great Gatsby.” He had bought it, he said, from “a kid who wanted a few thousand bucks, which he took right up to Manny’s Music Shop and bought an electric guitar.” But Skyline can no longer hold off the rent increases or behemoth bookstores and Web sites. So Mr. Warren will begin selling online, taking with him the store’s beloved cat, Linda.


I have known Rob for many years, dating back to when he first opened the store- We were amazed he stayed in business that long. Rob had previously put in time at other places,the Strand, and is familiar with most of the book characters in the City. His shop was a great place for a tete-a - tete. And its scruffy surroundings never deterred book lovers from browsing and buying. Another blow to the bibliophilic solar plexus- Amazing that he stayed open this long. We wish him the best of luck on line and in new ventures.