The Honor of Co-named Streets

Fred Bass Way

People have been honored here in New York with co-naming of streets or places for them. Look for the special green signs below the regular street signs and check out nycstreets.info/honorstreet

Fred Bass (1928-2018) began working at the Strand Bookstore when he was 13 years-old. Fred introduced a number of innovations, growing it into the largest used-bookstore in the world. Credit: Wikipedia.

Fred Bass (1928-2018) began working, when he was 13 years-old, at the Strand Bookstore founded in 1927 by his father, Benjamin Bass. Benjamin was an emigrant from Lithuania who came to the United States when he was 17. Strand is named after a street in London. The new store was able to survive the Depression by Bass’ use of extensive networks of contacts. Furthermore, his landlord was the last of the city’s noted Stuyvesant family, which carried the store through its lean years when Bass could not pay his rent—although he later paid back the debt.

After serving in the U. S. Army, Fred became manager of the store in 1956 and moved it from Fourth Avenue to 828 Broadway at 12th Street. Over the years, the store added an antiquarian department and expanded to occupy four full floors.

 In 1996 Fred bought the building at East 12th Street for $8.2 million. By 1997, it was the largest used-bookstore in the world, with over 2.5 million books.  While the store continues to boast the slogan, “18 miles of books,” it now houses over “23 miles” of books. Fred introduced a number of innovations, establishing satellite Strands in kiosks outside the entrance to Central Park, at Grand Army Plaza and downtown in the South Street Seaport.

He also created a literary quiz for prospective Strand employees to test their knowledge of books. He donated regularly to the Fresh Air Fund, God’s Love We Deliver, Boys Town of Italy and of Jerusalem, the Dole Fund, the Robin Hood Foundation at 826 Broadway, and Calvary Hospital.

The current owner of the Strand, Bass’ daughter Nancy Bass Wyden, began helping in the store at age six.

Notably, perhaps due to construction at the Strand building, there is no green sign currently marking the Fred Bass Way. Hopefully, that will be remedied after repairs are completed.

At the northeast corner of Broadway and East 12th Street is the Fred Bass Way (although the co-name sign is missing), at the Strand Bookstore. Credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.