Harvard Book Store

Founded in 1932 when Mark S. Kramer borrowed $300 from his parents to sell used and remaindered textbooks to local college students, the Harvard Book Store grew into one of New England's most revered independent bookshops. In 1950, it moved down the block to its permanent home at 1256 Massachusetts Avenue. Kramer's son Frank took over management in 1962, pioneering innovations like a dedicated used-book basement and an on-demand book printing press ("Paige M. Gutenberg"). In 2008, the Kramer family sold the store to longtime patrons Jeffrey Mayersohn and Linda Seamonson, maintaining its fiercely independent identity distinct from the neighboring Harvard Coop.