City Lights, an iconic San Francisco bookshop, has been rescued from collapse thanks to loyal readers who raised almost half a million dollars to save it.
Founded in 1953 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights means a lot to its community, but its future was in danger due to the 2020 viral pandemic. Chief executive Elaine Katzenberger warned patrons and readers that the City Lights was facing “formidable challenges” thanks to the pandemic lockdown. Closed to the public since 16th of March, with no idea when it can reopen, Katzenberger said they were not even taking online orders, because it wanted its staff to remain at home where it was safer.
“With no way to generate income, our cash reserves are quickly dwindling,” she wrote. “We’re doing everything in our power to keep City Lights intact, and to position this beloved institution to play a vital role in what is for now a very uncertain future … We’re exploring every means of possible support, including federal and local grants and loans, but these funds are not guaranteed to come in, and they won’t meet the needs of our short-term future. And so, we must humbly ask for your support.”
The GoFundMe set up for City Lights was set out to raise $300,000 (£243,000), but ended up raising more than $460,000 (£342,000). Katzenberger said the generous sum would “help stabilise us for the next couple of months, and that will enable us to begin planning for the future”.
She thanked supporters and donators for “the outpouring of love” and said she had told 101-year-old founder of the store, Ferlinghetti, about the support.
“Knowing that City Lights is beloved is one thing, but to have that love manifest itself with such momentum and indomitable power, well, that’s something I don’t quite know how to find words for,” she wrote. “We sat in silence a while, and then Lawrence asked me, ‘When is the store going to open up again?’ and I had to say, ‘We still don’t know … nobody knows what happens next’, and then we sat in silence a while more.”
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