Our antiquarian shop is located in the historic W.W. Rutherford building, built in 1905. 

The Literary Lion was first opened by Dr. and Mrs. Vanderhoof in 1996.  When their first grandchild was born, they closed the store to spend more time with her.  The store was re-opened in '05, and while the ownership has changed, we hope that the spirit of the store has remained.  Before the Lion, the building hosted two other bookstores.  Fables and Fancies, a children's book shop, was in residence for a while before moving to another location.  The first bookstore in this location was the Cat and Candle, a new book and record store run by Betty Heath for over 20 years (I'm not sure of the exact numbers, so if anyone out there knows for certain or sees anything that needs correction or augmentation, please drop me a line).  She and her staff installed all of the cedar woodwork that to this day gives the shop its distinctive character.  We've been told the building was originally a dry goods general store.  As we find out more about it's history, we'll be sure to add to this page.