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The Book Nook

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The Book Nook was a former campus hangout in the early half of the 20th century. It's purported that Hoagy Carmichael wrote the notes of Stardust at the Book Nook's piano. Located at 114 S. Indiana Avenue across from the Indiana University School of Law, it has seen several changes over the years. Through each of the ownership transfers, the cornerstone of the original Book Nook structure remained.

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History

The Book Nook was owned by the Costas Brothers in the 1920s. It was during this period that it gained a reputation as a student hotspot. In his autobiography, Sometimes I Wonder, Hoagy Carmichael wrote: "On Indiana Avenue stood the Book Nook, a randy temple smelling of socks, wet slickers, vanilla flavoring, face powder, and unread books. Its dim lights, its scarred walls, its marked up booths, and unsteady tables made campus history."

Though Carmichael wrote Stardust in 1927, the depression forced the Costas Brothers to sell the Book Nook in 1931. The Poolitsan Family owned the structure and re-opened the building as a restaurant called The Gables. The IU Foundation bought the building in 1979 and has leased it out to several other restuarants.

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