Readers who fondly remember the old Blue Door Bookstore in Hillcrest will enjoy viewing a new exhibit at the San Diego Central Library.
Several glass display cases contain photographs, store flyers, art, a newspaper clipping . . . even one of the bookstore’s bags with its image of an ugly, scrunched-up face!
The Blue Door Bookstore once stood in the heart of Hillcrest at 3823 Fifth Avenue. Founded in 1961 and first owned an operated by Bill and Mary Peccolo, the store was purchased in 1988 by retired high school English teach Tom Stoup. Working hard, he grew the business, doubling its clientele and inventory in just four years.
The Blue Door Bookstore would become a favorite destination in San Diego for lovers of literature, culture and progressive politics. It would host up to 80 authors a year at a series of Wednesday and Friday poetry and literature readings and book signings. New authors were included with those who had achieved international fame. In one of my photographs, you can see Tom Stoup standing next to Gore Vidal.
The store with its blue door would finally close in 2001, largely due to the advent of e-commerce.
The Blue Door Bookstore exhibit can be viewed on the San Diego Central Library’s First Floor, in the wide area in front of the building elevators.
Are you both a San Diego resident and lover of books? To one side of these display cases you’ll find shelves of books by local authors!
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Tom was a friend and his wife, Penny Patton, is still a regular at Grape Street Dog Park. We all joined Penny for Tom’s Celebration of life when he passed away. I’ve got lots of photos. Yes, the Blue Door was a very special shop. My favorite, though was Warenbrock’s on 7th downtown. That was also a very good shop.
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Tom was a neighbor. I hung out with his kids. After high school I came to the realization that despite being literate, I hadn’t read many books, especially classics. I hung out at the Blue Door quite a bit, becoming a master of dust jacket literature, and even reading a few of the books. I gravitated toward short stories, which my attention span could handle more easily, although I eventually got through The Brothers Karamazov (even if I didn’t really get it). I was introduced to many great authors at that time. The little Blue Door Bookstore felt like an oasis of culture in San Diego in the 1980’s.
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Thanks for the memory!
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