Prospero's Books

Prospero’s Books is an independent used- and rare-book store on Kansas City’s 39th Street, occupying three floors of an 1890 building and serving for nearly three decades as a hub of the city’s literary, poetry, music, and arts scene.¹²³

Description

Prospero’s Books is an independent bookstore at the corner of West 39th and Bell Streets in midtown Kansas City, Missouri.⁴ It is housed in a brick building dating to 1890 that the store describes as “very possibly the longest continually operated retail space in KC,” having held a grocery store for its first 20 years and a hardware store for the following 90.¹ The shop spreads across three floors, with roughly 70 categories and approximately 50,000 titles of used books alongside vinyl records, CDs, and film.³

The store began with an inventory of about 5,600 books and has grown to some 50,000 titles over its run.⁴ It is described as the only remaining independent bookstore in the area that buys, sells, and trades used books, allowing customers to bring in books and trade them toward credit.⁴ Prospero’s also keeps a selection of books on its sidewalks 24/7 and operates free book boxes throughout the urban core.¹

Beyond retail, Prospero’s has long functioned as a center of Kansas City’s literary, music, and arts communities. It set an internationally recognized record for the longest continual poetry reading — 120 hours over five nonstop days — in 2010, and has co-hosted Plaza Literary Festivals.¹ The store says it has been “open 362 days a year for 30 years.”⁵

Ownership and history

Prospero’s Books opened on November 19, 1997 — a date chosen to mirror the anniversary of the famed Parisian bookstore Shakespeare and Company.² Co-owner Will Leathem has described the concept as “birthed on a bar stool less than 50 feet from its front door.”² The store was originally established by Will Leathem with an early partner; in 1999 that partner departed and Tom Wayne joined, later using his real-estate experience to broker the deal for the current building.¹² Prospero’s moved to its present location in the early 2000s, crossing 39th Street from its original storefront as it expanded into the larger three-floor space.¹

Both co-owners, Tom Wayne and Will Leathem, are neighborhood residents, and the store notes that one of them is almost always behind the counter.¹ The business reached its 25th anniversary in November 2022 and continues to operate under the same ownership.²

Links

• Official site: https://prosperosbookstore.com/
• About page: https://prosperosbookstore.com/about/

Sources

Disputes

None at this time.

See also

• _Tier1-Non-Service-Local-Businesses

Footnotes

1. Yelp — Prospero’s Books listing (updated March 2026), 1800 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO. https://www.yelp.com/biz/prosperos-books-kansas-city — asserts: address, building history (1890; grocery then hardware; “longest continually operated retail space in KC”), owners as neighborhood residents, sidewalk books / free book boxes, 2010 poetry-reading record, Plaza Literary Festivals, active listing with 114+ reviews. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. KCUR (Kansas City NPR), “Prospero’s marks a quarter century as 39th Street’s bookstore,” Nov 21, 2022. https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2022-11-21/prosperos-marks-a-quarter-century-as-39th-streets-bookstore — asserts: opened 1997 (25th anniversary in 2022), co-owners Tom Wayne and Will Leathem, “birthed on a bar stool,” partner change in 1999 / Tom Wayne joining, inventory growth 5,600 → ~50,000, vinyl/CDs/film, buy-sell-trade model, location at 39th & Bell. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Tripadvisor — Prospero’s Books (2026 reviews/photos), Kansas City, MO. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g44535-d23657801-Reviews-Prospero_s_Books-Kansas_City_Missouri.html — asserts: founded 1997, three floors, ~70 categories, ~50,000 titles of books/vinyl/CDs/film, 1890 building, current operation in 2026. ↩ ↩²

4. Atlas Obscura — Prospero’s Books, Kansas City. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/prosperos-books — asserts: opened November 19, 1997 (Shakespeare and Company anniversary), corner of 39th & Bell, brick building with wooden floors and tin ceilings, used books / rare books, three-floor layout, owners Tom Wayne and Will Leathem. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Prospero’s Bookstore — official website. https://prosperosbookstore.com/ — asserts: address 1800 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO 64111; current hours (Mon–Sat 10:30 AM–8 PM, Sun 11 AM–6 PM); “open 362 days a year for 30 years”; phone (816) 531-9673; currently operating. ↩