The El Moore, a beautifully restored historic residential apartment complex that is designed to be a model of urban sustainable living, is located at 624 West Alexandrine at Second Avenue in the heart of the Midtown area of Detroit. As Tom Brennan, the co-founder of the Green Garage and the El Moore likes to say, just a few years ago you could roll a boulder down Second Avenue and not hit anything. Today, the greater Midtown area from the I-94 freeway to West Grand Boulevard is a growing and thriving district that is encouraging walkability, biking, and support of local businesses.
One local business that has been in Midtown since the days of near-empty streets is Source Booksellers, now located a few blocks from the El Moore at 4240 Cass Avenue. Source Booksellers is one of few remaining independent book stores in Detroit, and its unique niche is non-fiction books and books for and about women.
Speaking of women, the founder and proprietor of Source Booksellers is a beautiful elder in our community, Janet Webster Jones, who first opened her bookstore in 2002 as part of the Spiral Collective on Cass and Willis. Ms. Jones relocated to her present expanded location, as a welcome addition to the Auburn Building along with several other small independent businesses.
In addition to books and related items, the Source Booksellers regularly host book signings by local and national authors, as well as engaging community conversations, mind, body, and spirit classes, and special events related to our beautiful and famous Michigan seasonal and celestial changes.
El Moore residents and visitors will certainly enjoy walking about three blocks to the beautifully decorated Source Booksellers to browse and economically support a local independent business that is a long-time Midtown treasure. Just be on the lookout for any rolling boulders as you walk across Second Avenue.