The Uptown Theatre on Broadway, a few doors from Shake, Rattle & Read. Photo: Moonraker0022 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Ric Addy moved to Uptown in 1971, when the neighborhood was a tense place, with rival groups competing for space and influence. He says things are much better now, though there is more to do.
Addy credits a good part of the change to the revival of Argyle Street and to business owners working to make that corridor safe and profitable. Argyle, he says, has become an attraction that draws people into Uptown from elsewhere.
A people place
His own shop, Shake, Rattle & Read, grew out of the Book Box, which opened in 1966 and has been a neighborhood fixture since. For decades the store has served as a meeting spot for groups pushing for social change and for residents who just want to talk. Addy wants it to stay a place people want to be. He keeps information about nearby restaurants and events on the shelves alongside the stock.
Uptown has always been mixed, and the inventory reflects that. Addy tries to carry every genre, from new popular novels to the classics, plus CDs and records for buyers of every age, along with calendars and gift items. He also sells through Amazon and eBay accounts and uses Facebook to promote events and new arrivals.
Broadway’s next chapter
As both a resident and an owner, Addy wants to see more businesses fill the empty storefronts along Broadway. His store sits a few doors from the Uptown Theatre, and he appears in the 2006 documentary about that landmark, “Uptown: Portrait of a Palace.”
Outside the shop he plays in the band Iggy Yoakam & His Famous Pogo Ponies and works as a DJ at local music venues. In an electronic age, his store is a reminder that a room full of books and records can still pull a neighborhood together.
Dana Ferraro covers property taxes, small business finance and the economy.
