World's Biggest Bookstore meets the wrecking ball

The World's Biggest Bookstore was demolished this weekend, bringing a close to an era that began in 1980 on Edward St. The store had already closed its doors back in March, but the loss of the structure that once housed the shop serves as a sort of exclamation point to end the narrative, one which has troubling implications for other bricks and mortar bookstores around the city.

Demolition got underway on Saturday, and while the majority of major destruction has concluded, the site won't be cleared of rubble for sometime. Eventually this stretch of Edward street will be home to a row of restaurants (yes, there's still no talk of condos) that will attract tourists visiting Yonge-Dundas Square and the Eaton Centre.

This was never the nicest bookstore in the city, nor was it actually the world's biggest -- but death of the store is bothersome because it forces us to wonder if its lack of tenability signals that bookshops in general are no longer viable businesses in a market dominated by Amazon and other online retailers.

Lead photo by Bryan Bonnici in the blogTO Flickr pool.