Capitol Hill Books is closed today, November 19: A truck carrying Lime scooters crashed into the glass storefront of 300 East Colfax Avenue at 8:40 p.m. on November 17, shattering a glass shelf containing the rare books the most expensive in the store.
“Signed books by Richard Bachman, small first-edition signed prints – they’re ruined,” says William Kortz, an employee who was first on the scene. At least 100 rare books and prints were damaged in the accident.
The rest of the store was spared a heavy old-fashioned radiator that prevented the truck from going any further inside. However, the steam from the burst radiator knocked out the rare books and prints on the shelves.
“It wasn’t so much the accident as the steam from the broken radiator hose that took the books away,” said owner Holly Brooks, who is in good spirits despite the shocking incident. “We’ll be able to get some of the books back; we just haven’t started that part yet. We need to get back in shape before we welcome people to the rest of the store.”
She continues: “That’s what we’re going to do today – sort through and find out what’s lost and basically store what we can until we have access to this area again.”
The truck, carrying Lime scooters, crashed into the store at 8.40pm on November 17.
Guillaume Kortz
Brooks discovered the accident after employees of the nearby Newhouse Hotel texted Kortz, who lives nearby. He immediately ran. “It was a real shock when I arrived. It was like finding your child under a truck. That’s how I feel about this place, it’s like a person. It just hurt a lot,” he said.
It was also quite a gift for Brooks, who learned the news on November 18, his 71st birthday. “He’s one I’ll never forget!” she says.
Damaged books and printed matter are currently neatly stacked in a corner of the store, and Brooks and his team are now looking for shelves to store any materials they can salvage.
As for the storefront, Brooks sees opportunity in the chaos. She has been in contact with the owner to install a new wall there. “No more glass,” she laughs. “We’re thinking of making it a wall instead of windows so we can put a mural there. We have so much window space that we won’t lose much by losing those three windows.”
“We’re already starting to look better,” reads the store’s Facebook page.
Capitol Hill Facebook Books
No one at the bookstore knows how the truck crashed into the store, and the police “won’t tell us anything,” Brooks says.
The store has been through tough times during the pandemic, and business has never been easy, says Brooks, who bought the place fifteen years ago — it was founded four decades ago — and runs it as a labor of love. “It has to be,” notes Brooks. “Do you think anyone makes money from second-hand bookstores?”
“She doesn’t even take income,” Kortz adds. “She works here and she owns it and puts her heart and soul into it and gets nothing out of it.”
Despite this latest lawsuit, Brooks continues. “I was absolutely determined,” she says. “COVID, pandemic, truck – no matter what, this store is going to hold.”
The bookstore has long been a favorite of Denver book lovers. At the start of the pandemic, when Westword reported that it was about to close, readers flooded the store with online orders that allowed the store to pay the rent.
Steam, broken glass and more damaged about 100 rare pounds.
Guillaume Kortz
Capitol Hill Books has posted updates to its Facebook page, where it now says it hopes to be open normal hours — 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20 and Sunday, Nov. 21.