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{{about|the bookstore|the book publisher|Holtzbrinck Publishing Group|books from the Renaissance|Renaissance literature}}
[[File:Milwaukee_renaissance_books.jpg|thumb|right|Renaissance Books old downtown store]]
'''Renaissance Books''' is a large [[independent bookstore]] originally located in downtown [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], specializing in used books.  Founded in the 1950s by George John and Erwin Just, it is now owned by Robert John, George's younger brother.<ref name="WSJ-Shabby">"Shabby Image Threatens to Cost Airport Bookstore Its Lease", ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', July 9, 1980</ref> The store's former main building (a former furniture warehouse) was five stories high (plus the two-story building next door and another down the block) housing somewhere from 350,000 to 600,000 volumes. ''[[The New York Times]]'' described it as "like a book collector’s attic, with boxes of used books lining the floor of this century-old former furniture store. But it’s more organized than it looks, with about a half-million books parceled among dozens of categories ('animal husbandry' 'theater practices and problems')".<ref>[http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/travel/05hours.html Casey, Maura J. "36 Hours in Milwaukee: 10 a.m. 4) BIBLIOPHILE’S DELIGHT" ''The New York Times'' October 5, 2008]</ref><ref>[http://www.onmilwaukee.com/market/articles/bookstores.html "Used bookstores in Milwaukee"], OnMilwaukee.com, July 3, 2000</ref> The local ''[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]'' described it as, "bursting at the seams with used books... easy to get lost among the mazelike shelves."<ref>Frank, Nicholas. "Downtown Shops Fulfill Wish List Dream" ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' Nov. 9, 2000: Holiday Lights Festival Supplement, pages 2, 6</ref>

== Airport branch ==
[[File:Renaissance Books in General Mitchell International Airport.JPG|thumb|Renaissance Books location in Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport; Milwaukee, WI.]]
Renaissance operates a branch at Milwaukee's [[Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport]], which opened in 1979.<ref name="WSJ-Shabby"/> With strong aviation, history, cooking and genre fiction sections, plus rare books,<ref>"The Bookstore Arrives at Airports", ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'', Sept. 12, 2005</ref> it is believed to have been the world's first used book store in an airport.<ref>"The Challenge of Airport Bookselling", ''Publishers Weekly'', July 13, 1984</ref> It holds about 60,000 volumes; in a recent ''The New York Times'' article, it was praised for its "quirkiness", with one customer saying, "They are totally not what people think of with an airport bookstore. They are kind of funky and it is a very Milwaukee thing."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/business/holiday-shopping-takes-hold-at-airports.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Luongo, Michael T. "Holiday Shopping on the Fly" ''The New York Times'' Business Day section, December 11, 2012]</ref>

== "Eyesore" controversy ==
In June 2011 the ''Journal Sentinel'' ran an article in its Business section headlined "City, businesses bemoan bookstore eyesore" which described the downtown location as "the eyesore on an otherwise attractive block.... part bookstore, part dustbin" and quoted nearby business owners as condemning the property as a blight on their neighborhood. The store was contrasted to the airport location, which it conceded "is one of the terminal's most popular features. The place is clean, well-lighted and attractive". The article contained speculation that owner John's motivations ranged from active perversity to "[[gaming the system]]" to a simple inability to perceive that clutter offends other people.<ref>Romell, Rick. [http://www.jsonline.mobi/more/news/milwaukee/123975894.htm "City, businesses bemoan bookstore eyesore"] ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' June 16, 2011</ref> In 2011, the city of Milwaukee closed down the store because of structural concerns about the building.<ref name="bizj">Vogel Davis, Stacy. [http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2012/11/09/renaissance-book-shop-to-open-at-grand.html] "Renaissance Book Shop to open at Grand Avenue" ''[[Milwaukee Business Journal]]'' November 9, 2012</ref> 

In November 2015, the city ordered John to demolish the downtown building<ref>Spicuzza, Mary. [http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/city-moves-to-demolish-renaissance-book-shop-building-b99621709z1-353064321.html "City moves to demolish downtown Renaissance Book Shop building"]. ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', November 23, 2015.</ref> because of unsafe structural conditions dating back to the early 20th century.<ref>Horne, Michael. [http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2015/11/15/plenty-of-horne-city-goes-medieval-on-renaissance/ "Plenty of Horne: City Goes Medieval on Renaissance"] ''UrbanMilwaukee.com'' November 15, 2015.</ref>

In May 2016, it was reported that the property had been sold to Milwaukee real estate developer Tim Gokhman.  Gokhman said he would have an engineering study done to determine if the building could be saved. It was unclear what happened to the books which had been housed in the shuttered building(s).<ref>Daykin, Tom. [http://www.jsonline.com/business/apartment-developer-buys-former-renaissance-book-shop-b99723526z1-378990421.html "Apartment developer buys former Renaissance Book Shop"] ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' May 11, 2016.</ref>

== Other branches after downtown closure ==
In November 2012, it was reported that Renaissance Books would open a branch downtown at the nearby [[The Shops of Grand Avenue]] retail mall.<ref name="bizj"/><ref>Daykin, Tom. [http://www.jsonline.com/business/jakes-deli-renaissance-books-opening-at-grand-avenue-bu7l9v6-179400171.html "Jake's Deli, Renaissance Books opening at Grand Avenue"] ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' November 9, 2012</ref> In October 2018, it was reported that the Grand Avenue branch was closing down and moving to [[Southridge Mall (Wisconsin)|Southridge Mall]] on the south side of Milwaukee County.<ref>[https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/retail/2018/11/05/renaissance-book-shop-moves-grand-avenue-southridge/1894083002/ Rommell, Rick. "Renaissance book shop moves from Grand Avenue to Southridge" ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' November 5, 2018]</ref> The new store opened on [[Black Friday (shopping)|Black Friday]] of 2018 under the management of "Ink" Lowrey, a second-generation Renaissance employee.<ref>[https://shepherdexpress.com/arts-and-entertainment/ae-feature/renaissance-books-opens-at-southridge/ Schultz, Blaine. "Renaissance Books Opens at Southridge: Storied Milwaukee bookseller trades Grand Avenue for Southridge Mall"] ''[[Shepherd Express]]'' December 11, 2018</ref>

== References ==
<references/>
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== External links ==
* [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/renaissance-book-shop Renaissance Book Shop] on [[Atlas Obscura]]

[[Category:Antiquarian booksellers]]
[[Category:Companies based in Milwaukee]]
[[Category:Companies established in the 1960s]]
[[Category:Independent bookstores of the United States]]