The decision was made due to several factors, but ultimately owners Don and Irma Hurd realized that they were enjoying the downtime they experienced when they closed due to covid-19. Although running the space was a passion project, the couple would find themselves working seven days a week to keep up with the ever-increasing demand of running a business.
First opened its doors in October 2011, Imagine, named for John Lennon’s iconic song, was a lifelong dream of former Neisd English teacher Don Hurd. Along with the help of his two sons and his wife, Irma, who worked at a pro bono legal clinic in St. mary’s university, the quaint little store was able to take shape.
You are reading: Imagine books and records
“My dad has always had a way of bringing people together, even before the store. on our block, we had all these kids that grew up there and our house was the meeting house. We got [those kids] together and they helped us open the store,” says Ezra Hurd, who describes lugging the boxes of books from her childhood home back to the original store when she was a sophomore at Warren High School.
Throughout its 10-year tenure, imagine extended its reach to every niche corner of the local music scene, becoming the hub of a thriving community and a fun place to gather. on Friday and Saturday nights, it became a café during which the book-lined room was filled with poetry and music. The events began with a sporadic series called “Dali’s mustache” and quickly became a weekly occurrence.
during college, ezra took over the reservation while don focused on the store. For four years, the venue played host to Imagine Fest, an annual week-long music festival that featured performances from around the world, as well as local favorites.
Otonana Trio from Japan performing at Imagine. See Also: Kindle Cloud Reader – 7 tips and facts to know “Performing and working at imagine was full of laughter, late nights, loud (but great) music, hanging out in the back office during imagine fest, trips to the palapas at 2am after the shows, and most of all, joy. it has been a great privilege in my life to have experienced the energy of that space in time and that energy will live on in the hearts of the artists and misfits whose lives were touched by imagine and the hurds,” says singer-songwriter al williams, who performed their first show on imagine when they were only 11 years old. Over the course of his career, other San Antonio-based acts who were instrumental in putting Imagine on the map include Darian Stahl, Elnuh, Odd & gray, verisimilitude, false hemlock, lone horse, booty feet, and more. “I liked being able to buy books after a show and they were the only place on the north side of town that put on live music that way, and a lot of local bands have headlined there over the years,” he says Noah Escamilla, former guitarist and vocalist of Booty Feet. Loney Horse performing at Imagine Book Store & Records. In 2019, the venue moved to a different space in the same mall, once again with the help of the community. “It felt like a home away from home, it had a really nice energy and vibe to the place that a lot of creative people felt welcome to express,” says ezra hurd. “That’s partly due to my dad, because of how welcoming he was and how interested he’s been in the arts his whole life.” imagine was a space of acceptance, and its inventor, don hurd, obviously a renaissance man. A former teacher with an entrepreneurial spirit, Hurd is also a poet, musician, and writer of several books. When the store was just a twinkle in his eye, he would do pop-ups with his friend at the Eisenhower Road Flea Market, operating under the name Earwax Records. as the years passed, he performed his music and poetry to the imaginary audience. See Also: 9 Best Children&x27s Books for Teaching Character Traits in the Classroom | Teach Starter ezra recalls a specific memory of playing in his father’s band during a psilocybin-focused show featured on “420 but mushrooms.” don assembled the band, titled the velvet wrench and read some of his poetry. the performance came to a close when ezra’s father dazzled the audience by dramatically lighting up his poem. “Looking back, there were a lot of nights that they stayed up late with my dad, as business partners and as a son, it was 2 a.m. and we were just talking about the store,” says Hurd. “They tell you not to do business with your family, which is a valid argument, but honestly it’s probably why we’ve been so successful for so long.” on Saturday, August 28, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Sunday, August 29, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., imagine will sell the remaining inventory and invite all those who have enjoyed the space over the years to go through one last time. ezra jokes that maybe one day he’ll open his own picture and mentions that in the meantime the spirit of the store still lives on in the “mini picture” of his father’s office, covered in books, various memorabilia from the store, and beatles merchandise. The Hurd family in front of Imagine Books & Records. “Whenever you went to a show, whether it was punk, acoustic, or a poetry reading, you always felt a sense of community and friendship,” popular music photographer oscar moreno tells mysa. “seeing them close is a devastating blow to the music and art community as it was kind of a rite of passage for many here in the city to play there. I personally feel like I lost a part of me as I would. I often come and spend my days there with friends who also saw it as a safe space. Seeing the ups and downs that happened in the last 5 years, it will be hard to forget it. We will miss it very much.” See Also: Braille Books for the Blind | The Braille Bookstore
