The UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE was relocated from the University of the South main campus to the current downtown location in 2020. It is a newly constructed two-story building managed by Barnes and Noble. The store carries an extensive collection of current fiction and non-fiction books along with a wide variety of Sewanee clothing and memorabilia.
The previous structure on this site was a private residence, owned for 5 decades by the W.H and S.E. Johnson families, followed next by Hawkins, Cardwells, and prior to its last residents, college students, the building had also housed the frame shop, Terrapin Station, and Simply Gourmet Shop in the 1990s.
Groundbreaking ceremony for the new University Bookstore
on April 13, 2019 in the Sewanee Village.
Joe DeLozier, C’77, P’16, and chair of the Board of Regents, welcomed community members and other guests to the groundbreaking, and encouraged everyone to use and enjoy the new bookstore; after its completion, the space will serve as a bridge between the community and University. The new bookstore will be a two-story building with a large front porch and a prominent entrance on University Avenue.
Frank Gladu, special assistant to the vice-chancellor, remarked that the bookstore will be the first new building in four decades along University Avenue in the Village.
Vice-Chancellor John McCardell noted that the day had been long anticipated. Former members of the Board of Regents would remember the topic of village development had been on the University’s agenda for quite some time. McCardell thanked members of the Sewanee Business Alliance for sharing in the University’s vision of a thriving business distract.
The bookstore has been designed to serve both the University and the local community, with a gathering place on the first level for book signings and other special events. In addition to a book inventory similar to that offered in the previous location on campus, the upper level will provide a generous amount of space for clothing, supplies, and other merchandise. Adjacent parking will be provided.
Following McCardell’s remarks, he, Gladu, DeLozier, Russell Green (bookstore manager), Sarah Boykin (campus planning director), and Mary Margaret Murdock (C'19, student trustee) used golden shovels to ceremonially break ground for the new bookstore.
Sewanee; University of the South, Campus Life Article
Photos courtesy of Mary O'Neill, University Archives and the University of the South Campus Life