It's Alive! Century 21 Columbus Circle Has Officially Soft-Opened

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Remember when 1972 Broadway was a Barnes & Noble? Yeah, not anymore. Using his special VIP rewards card, the Shophound just toured the Century 21 that replaced the uptown bookstore, and he says few traces of Barnes & Noble remain. The escalators are still there, but otherwise, the space "has been completely gutted," he writes. Century 21 hasn't replicated the bare bones look of its downtown space, either; the new shop has "a specialized decor of fractured brushed steel and zig-zagging red lights."

Of course, nobody goes to Century 21 for the decor, so let's talk labels. The Shophound reports seeing signs for Dolce & Gabbana, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, John Galliano, M.Patmos, Missoni, Escada, and Halston. In the shoe department, he found Sergio Rossi, Martin Margiela, Clergerie, "and, yes, even Manolo Blahnik." (There might have been more middle-of-the-road brands, but as our faithful guide explains, he's predisposed to miss them.) What the store doesn't have: Housewares, cosmetics, or more offbeat items like the rack of Woolrich Woolen Mills samples that sometimes appears downtown.
· Let's Have a Moment of Silence for Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center [Racked NY]
· Century 21's Upper West Side Store Is A NEW Century 21 [The Shophound]
· The UWS Century 21 Will Have a Soft Opening on Thursday [Racked NY]