Powell’s Books Building 2

Portland, United States

4.3

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

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Telephone:
+1 503-228-4651
Website:
www.powells.com
Address:
40 NW 10th Ave, Portland, OR, 97209
Pearl District
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
70 ftNorthwest 10th & Couch
230 ftWest Burnside & Northwest 10th
260 ftWest Burnside & Southwest 10th
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Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Portland) 12:38 AM Friday, June 13, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
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20 reviews of Powell’s Books Building 2

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Huge store looked at children middle age reading books. Good selection but not tons of used books. Used books can sell from five to ten dollars So some deals there
Place rating: 3
Omaha, NE
Friendly staff but they don’t seem to have much knowledge about the stock of technical books. They have to look everything up.
Also, most of the GDT books where out of date. It’s ASTM 14.5−2009 now.
Place rating: 3
Vancouver, Canada
Powell’s is growing that they need to open a second building = awesome. Here is the problem is that the lady working there at the time my best friend and I were shopping looked and acted like the uptight librarian who needed an attitude adjustment. Maybe this is why they stuck here all the way in the small second building away from the common businesses of the public.
Place rating: 4
Oregon City, OR
Pretty amazing collection of books. I was looking for some specific books in the Christian section. I was amazed that they had almost NONE of the titles I was looking for. Pretty much every title known to be written on magic, mythology and mysticism however. Not super suprising as this place clearly is a bastion of über liberal groupthink. Other than that it’s fun and huge. I would probably give it 3.5 stars.
Place rating: 4
Ojai, CA
This book store has both technical books/​manuals and also general science and nature books. I enjoyed browsing through their bird books, other nature books and some of their new, popular, science books. Powell’s second book store is located across a street from their main book store and easy to find. I parked on the street next to the park a few blocks away, where I was able to find both 90 minute parking spaces or 3 hour parking spaces (it’s a good idea to have change for the meter). Definitely worth a visit. The gentleman at the counter helped me find what I was looking for and was very professional.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
In the need for books related to hard sciences (biology, chemistry, physics) or boating (among other subjects)? Then this is the place! I love how small, yet dense this little book shop is. No need to walk up stairs or lose yourself in rows of books — save that for Powell’s Books across the street. Instead, get wrapped up in varying hard sciences, engineering, and other studies.
Place rating: 5
Cypress, CA
We went to the main store at first and were pretty wowed by the layout but when I asked about math books, they referred us to this building next door.
WOW. This store had every book that I love in the STEM categories and I was even able to find a very particular Calculus book I needed.
Any bookstore that’s solely dedicated to the sciences is OK with me!
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Whatever you’ve heard about Powell’s… It’s all true! This place is a must-​visit for book lovers. Love the Rare Book Room here!
Place rating: 5
Vancouver, WA
I was hunting for a repair manual for my car and didn’t want to spend $ 25 for a new copy. You’d better believe Powell’s had two used copies on the shelf in building two, which is now conveniently located next door to the main Powell’s building. Building two is known as the «technical building» and houses their selection of science related books. So if you are in need of a popular science, natural science, computer science, transportation… book, then you will most likely find it here. In the computer science section they have a display of old computers from the 80s. So if you want one of Apple’s first computers known as «Lisa» they have it for $ 9000. Get in there and look around! You’ll get lost, but not as lost as next door at the flagship store.
Place rating: 5
Alhambra, CA
Books galore! I could just spend forever in there! I picked up David Byrne’s How Music Works and I can’t wait to read it! Absolutely loved this place!
Place rating: 4
Portland, OR
I want to walk this one back a bit. It’s way better than the technical section of any chain bookstore. But it’s still a good few notches below the huge old place on NW Park.
Place rating: 5
Decatur, GA
Wow. I found cheap used books, textbooks, and all sorts of books that I was sure I needed. I even found one that I had not been able to get from my campus library earlier that week! Seriously, this bookstore delivered a small miracle to me.
There are some neat geeky toys and accessories too, but the focus here is definitely on books. There are so many different topics crammed in that you should probably read the title of every book here to make sure you don’t miss something awesome.
Place rating: 4
Lake Oswego, OR
The selection of the main building is much more suited for me… but still quite impressive and would be heaven for the right kind of person.
Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA
Maths, sciences, and techie books are in Powell’s 2, which is about 90% of what the hub reads. We went there and I was able to find a few books to browse myself but was itching for the main building. I left the hub in Powell’s 2, where he stayed for 2hrs.
There’s more of a library feel to this store because it’s smaller and less crowded. Nice people working there.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Makes me wish I were smarter so I can fully enjoy the best selection of all that is good in nerd and geekdom in this haven for brainiacs and those of us striving to get our smart on I think my IQ points just went up browsing the titles!
Been meaning to pick up that book on quantum physics? How about how to build our own laser? Need to ace the MCAT, LSAT, etc. Well, look no further, because this bookstore has it all and then some. Go and go often, you too can sport a pair of those smarty pants.
Place rating: 4
Hood River, OR
Know as powells technical books, this building has a great selection of this type of books.
Varied selection of math & science, novelties and other technical books
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
The largest technical book selection I’ve ever seen. By an order of magnitude. I’m not exactly sure when I’d need to purchase the system administrators’ guide to Windows ME, but when that moment arrives I’ll trek up to Powell’s 2.
Place rating: 5
Walnut, CA
This is a great place to be. They have everything tech related. For the technically minded and the completely non-​technical person. There is something for everyone here. It’s almost like going to a museum. I could spend hours looking from shelf to shelf at all the titles and topics.
Place rating: 5
Denver, CO
Best book store I’ve ever been to. This place inspires one to read. The layout, the atmosphere, the selection; everything adds up to the amazing character that overflows from every corner of Powell’s. This is as much a tourist attraction as a bookstore. It’s great.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’m no rocket scientist, I just happen to think rocket scientists and smart technical people are incredibly sexy. If I hadn’t already snagged myself someone who sweetly whispers theorems to me, I would totally know where to go to find one.
My dear sweet lumberjack had actually been looking for this building the day before (when were in the main store) but were short on time and didn’t realize we had been looking across the wrong street– until the next day.
Simply incredible. Science, tech, and novelties that needed to be explained to me. I found a t-​shirt that reminded me of his Mandelbrot fractal program. *swoon* It made my heart melt.