Tattered Cover's rise as a Denver institution (1974)
Joyce Meskis bought a small Denver bookstore in 1974 and built Tattered Cover into one of the country's largest independent bookstores. It hosted thousands of author events and became a civic gathering place.
The store anchored Denver's literary scene for decades and survived the rise of chain bookstores.
Tattered Cover later shrank and changed hands, showing how fragile even well-known bookstores can be.
Spearman led Tattered Cover before starting Denver Book Society. His new store uses the same community-anchor model in a neighborhood without a dedicated bookstore.
