Founded in 1825, Brattle Book Shop is one of the oldest antiquarian bookshops in the United States and still owned by the Gloss family that bought it in 1949. Three floors of new, used, and rare books inside a narrow West Street building behind the Common, with rare and signed material on the top floor in a locked back room.
The most photographed part is outside: an open-air sale lot beside the building, where carts of bargain books are wheeled out every morning, the walls are hung with portraits of authors, and a mural of stacked books rises three storeys on the brick of the neighboring building. Prices on the outdoor carts start at one dollar.
Walk-ins welcome; bring a few empty shopping bags. The shop is a short walk from the Park Street T or Downtown Crossing, and worth combining with the Granary Burying Ground and Faneuil Hall nearby.