History of Growing Bookstore:
After operating for years out of storefronts in Dearborn and Detroit, including the now demolished, but much louted Michigan Theater Building, John K. King bought the Advance Glove factory in 1983 at the western edge of downtown Detroit.
Factory Full of Used Books:
King wrote his name in big bold letters across the four-story building’s façade and filled all four floors of the former factory with used and rare books. Eventually the volume of books outgrew even the former factory, literally overflowing into the adjacent Otis Elevator Building. And it didn’t stop there; King now has multiple stores in the Detroit Metro Area, as well as a virtual storefront on the World Wide Web. According to King’s website, he has over 1 Million books
