The Green Arcade, "an independent bookstore in the heart of San Francisco known for its one-of-a-kind selection and signature jukebox," closed July 23 after 15 years in business, SFGate reported, adding that "bicycle messenger turned bookstore owner Patrick Marks, who for decades was the buyer for the storied Cody's Books in Berkeley and the manager of Tro Harper Books on Powell Street before opening up a shop of his own in 2008, said he is retiring--but he's not leaving the business entirely."
"I'm positing it as in the film biz when you're an actor and you become a director," he said. "I'm going to the other side of the camera--I want to do publishing." Noting that he had decided to start winding down operations about five years ago, Marks plans to spend more time with his husband Gent Sturgeon, an artist who worked at City Lights bookstore for 32 years before retiring.
"I need to stop being a bigamist, because I'm married to the store, so I can stay closer to home in Noe Valley," Marks added. "I'm kind of sad that the timing has come with a lot of retail closing, but I had planned this before all of this was coming up. And I'm not sad about closing the store... the word would be wistful."
The Green Arcade's curation of books centered around nonfiction, environmentalism, activism and politics arose from Marks's involvement in the Green Festival, SFGate noted. "Regulars also found a vast selection of literature focused on San Francisco and California history, and Marks was always eager to discuss his bookstore's own roots in a neighborhood formerly known as the Hub."
"I was so happy to be on Market Street--I loved being in the middle of all the excitement. To me, it really is the center of the universe. That sounds really egomaniacal, never mind," he said, adding that during the bookshop's closing sale everything was "really flying off the shelves. People are coming by for a stack of books and then want a hug."
As for his future, Marks plans to remain at the helm of Ithuriel's Spear Press in San Francisco, and is working on releasing Muni Is My Ride later this fall, an art book by Keith Ferris and Lia Smith featuring portraits and interviews with 22 Muni operators. He also hopes to print a partial manuscript left behind by his friend, author and activist Francesca Rosa, who worked at the Arc San Francisco for more than 30 years and died in 2016.
"I wanted to retire to have the time and concentration to focus on these more intense projects that involve research and archival work," Marks said.