A peek at Elliott Bay Book Co.'s new digs on Capitol Hill

There's a lot to love about Elliott Bay Book Co.'s new space on Capitol Hill.

Built in 1917 when lumber was cheap, the cavernous old truck-repair shop has fir floors, smaller-gauge fir ceilings and giant wooden beams holding it all together.

But possibly the most exciting part, says bookstore owner Peter Aaron, is the heating.

Elliott Bay's location in Pioneer Square, which it will leave as early as March for what Aaron considers a safer neighborhood with better business prospects, has no heating system.

"At the front desk, we have to wear sweaters and gloves with the fingers cut out," he said. "We all look like Bob Cratchit."

While the bookstore's 36 workers bundle up for their last winter in Pioneer Square, construction workers are creating what Aaron calls an "expansive yet intimate" new place that was designed by 5ive Creative.

They're refinishing ceilings and floors, adding walls using more wooden beams, and building a large mezzanine in the back to take advantage of the store's 19-foot ceilings.

They're also building an entrance and lift for wheelchairs, which will be able to access the entire bookstore, including a large author reading room in the basement.

Several pieces of the old store will move uphill from Pioneer Square, including the bookstore's cedar bookshelves, a 45-foot hand-painted sign for outside the building and the big stained-glass window above its front door.

Aaron thinks it will take about two weeks to move everything, including 150,000 books.

A big cafe is being built in back, beneath the mezzanine, and will likely be run by the same chef, Brasa's Tamara Murphy, who has run the cafe at the current Elliott Bay for about a year.

Everyday Music will open next door in January.

It will be the music store's second move in two years. The first came in June 2008, when its building was torn down for a light rail station on Capitol Hill. The store moved a few blocks to the south.

"We won't have the Jimi Hendrix [statue] out front any more, but we'll have Elliott Bay next to us, which is as much a Seattle staple as Jimi Hendrix," said assistant manager Hans Fluegel. "I look forward to spending half my pay on music and half on books."

Michael Malone, who is the music store's landlord at both locations, said Everyday Music will be replaced in the "Jimi Hendrix" space by Blick Art Materials from Chicago.

Aaron said earlier this week that he's relocating the bookstore, which has been in The Globe building since it opened 36 years ago, because of financial problems caused by the recession and ongoing issues in Pioneer Square, including too little police presence and scarce parking particularly when there are football, baseball or soccer games.

Frank Buchanan, a leasing agent for Elliott Bay's landlord, has not returned phone calls this week asking how he might fill the more than 20,000 square feet that the bookstore will vacate.

If Elliott Bay begins to generate extra cash — which would be a first in the 11 years Aaron has been an owner — he does not plan to put it toward selling books online, as Powell's in Portland and others have done.

Instead, he would like to stream video online from the roughly 500 author readings that Elliott Bay hosts each year, and keep an online archive of visits. "That's the kind of thing, when we have money to invest in the business," Aaron said.

He has talked with the city of Seattle about the possibility of seeking a loan to help pay for the move through its new Grow Seattle Fund, but doubts that he will apply.

"I don't think I'm going to need it," Aaron said.

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com