Amid the chaos of downtown Salt Lake City on the corner of 9th and 9th, there is calm. In 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, a man named Brandon Anderson made his mark on the cityscape by opening his very own personification of serenity: the 9th and 9th Book and Music Gallery.
Anderson spied opportunity in the back room of the jewelry store owned by a man named Joe Maughan and deemed it his blank canvas. Maughan was thrilled about Anderson’s idea of creating a community art forum and the brainstorm soon came to fruition. From there, creativity flourished as Anderson began building up the space, using repurposed yard tools for decorations and his own collection of rare books to fill it.
A Collector’s Cavern
The shop evolved and is now lined with books from the floor to the ceiling, creating a cocoon of literature. Anderson keeps a small collection of gold-lined leather bound books as well that are incredibly rare and used purely for display. In fact, a portion of the gallery is a collection of incredibly rare pieces that are solely for visual consumption in order to ensure that they can be enjoyed by everyone in the SLC community.
Aside from the collectibles, the shop is also home to a variety of purchasable items for a more modest price. Despite the shop’s minuscule scale, you could spend hours sifting through its cases of jewels and trinkets, as well as skimming the lines of a litany of books that you cannot read anywhere else.
Although books are the shop’s primary focus, it also features a variety of musical instruments for purchase. Everything from flutes and acoustic guitars to rare electric guitars, speakers and amplifiers adorn its walls just waiting for some musical genius to try their luck.
A Downtown Darling
The gallery also provides a hub for local talent as they offer a public forum for concerts, book readings, art classes and open mic nights for poetry. It provides a space where lovers of the arts can come together as a community to share their passions. The shop has featured pottery classes, tattoo pop-up shops and tarot card readings on their itinerary. They’ve also had a series of book signings by up-and-coming authors like David G. Pace and Jim Ruland. Local musicians and bands also use the steps of the gallery to show off their skills and garner an audience.
In order to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy the wonder of the gallery, there is a section full of free records for anyone to mull over and take home. There is also a “free library” at the front of the store that houses any items that have been neglected by shoppers for more than 60 days. This ensures that all of the shop’s wonders find a home somewhere in the community.
In fact, money is the last thing on Anderson’s mind. He told SLUG Magazine that he has not taken a single dime of profit into his own pocket from the shop. He puts every cent that the shop makes back into keeping it alive and well. The people of the community that invest in its success breathe life into it and allow it to continue to be a light and pillar of Salt Lake City.
