You’re Dealing with Sophisticated People Here: The Library on Bleecker

Welcome to The Library on Bleecker by Whalebone x CADDIS

Photos by Avery Schuyler Nunn

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

Those are the words of author Jorge Luis Borges, author of The Labyrinths, which sadly has nothing to do with the David Bowie movie, and The Library of Babel. Last we checked in inventory, you won’t find either of those books or David Bowie at the Library on Bleecker by Whalebone x CADDIS in New York City.

If you’ve been by 326 Bleeker St., you may have noticed that there is a wall that prominently displays a quote. Maybe you were so intent on your pool game that you missed it, but that seems unlikely.

We may have briefly considered that Borges line for a quote to put up on the quote wall. And while he is a tremendous writer who dwells in the libraries of imagination, the quote didn’t feel right at all to fill the blank space of that white wall.

“If you go home with somebody and they don’t have any books, don’t fuck ‘em.”

That quote is courtesy of role model and filmmaker John Waters. While the spirit of Baltimore’s favorite son’s words might sum up an important attribute of having literature in your life, the crew feared its finer points might be lost on some of the younger visitors to The Library on Bleecker.

And so we landed solidly, happily and soundly in the the world of Steve Martin and one of the greatest movies ever made. And you’ve seen the quote above and it pretty much sums it all up.

CHECK US OUT.

At the Library on Bleecker by Whalebone x CADDIS you’ll find magazines to read by the first half of that equation and eye appliances by the second half to help you focus if your eyeballs need a little help focusing. You’ll also find shelves and shelves of books, which are also to read, despite whatever John Waters might use them for. Then there’s some comfy couches, a room full of hand painted hearts, lots of just heart, sometimes some Montauk Brew Co. or maybe Don Julio or both. A hot chocolate bar and probably some coffee. Hidden rooms if you can find a book that a Matt Damon movie is based on (Borges would be proud). A yellow dog that will eventually find its way back to Montauk and The Boneyard as well as a pool table, and maybe you.

Walk west from the Christopher Street stop and look for the books or the yellow dog or the sign that says “Jerry Seinfeld is a jerk.”

The Library on Bleecker by Whalebone x CADDIS is open from 11–7 most days, maybe we open a little later on Sunday, at 326 Bleecker St.