101-year-old Oakland newsstand to close tonight oakland The 101-year-old downtown landmark victim of Internet age

Business goes on as usual at DeLauer's Super Newsstand in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2008. Opened in 1907, DeLauer's, a downtown Oakland landmark that once was packed with newspapers, magazines and books from across America and beyond, is closing this week, a victim of the slow economy and Internet news sites.Photo by Kim Komenich / The Chronicle less Business goes on as usual at DeLauer's Super Newsstand in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, June 24, 2008. Opened in 1907, DeLauer's, a downtown Oakland landmark that once was packed with newspapers, magazines and ... more Photo: Kim Komenich, The Chronicle Photo: Kim Komenich, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close 101-year-old Oakland newsstand to close tonight 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

In another sign that the printed word may be going the way of polar ice caps, the renowned 101-year-old De Lauer's newsstand on Broadway in Oakland is going out of business.

"We have to close," said Charles De Lauer, the 91-year-old proprietor whose father started the enterprise selling papers from small wagons in 1907. "Things just got too hard."

The 24-hour-a-day store that once sold newspapers and magazines from around the world will shut down at 10 p.m. tonight, store manager Fasil Lemme said today.

"This is a business that time is passing by because everybody has a computer," said De Lauer's accountant Joe Churchward. "Your news is at the click of a button."

De Lauer's is located between 13th and 14th streets, in the heart of downtown near City Hall and just a few doors around the corner from the landmark Tribune Tower, abandoned by its namesake newspaper last year.

News of De Lauer's closing comes less than a week after the legendary Cody's Books in Berkeley shuttered the doors on its last incarnation on Shattuck Avenue.

"It's a sad day for Mr. De Lauer," Churchward said. "It's been 101 years."

Cumulative losses over the past several years combined with the serious illness of De Lauer to force the closure, Churchward said.

De Lauer continued to go to work and actively run the business until about eight or nine months ago when he became weakened by leukemia, he said. He added that his wife and two sons tried to pitch in but couldn't overcome the economics.

Income at the business, which also sells books, snacks and various sundries, was relatively stable in recent years, but it couldn't offset the rising costs of labor, rent and publications, Churchward said. Annual losses ranged from $150,000 to $200,000 for the past three to five years, he said.

Said De Lauer, "The amazing part of it is, we've managed to stay in there as long as we have."

Theft, too, has taken a toll on the business, accounting for losses of $75,000 to $100,000 a year, Churchward said.

The announced closure generated a flurry of discussions about possible ways to save the business.

David Glover, executive director of Occur, an Oakland nonprofit group devoted to strengthening local communities, said he's encountered many people who would like to save De Lauer's.

"It is my hope that the city of Oakland and private interests and community interests can come together to prevent a closure," he said on a visit to the newsstand Tuesday.

"It's a 101-year-old institution," Glover said. "It has a special place in the landscape of this community."

After city officials learned Tuesday of the impending closure, they asked the Oakland Commerce Corp., a nonprofit group contracted by the city to assist in business retention, to investigate ways that De Lauer's might receive a lifeline, said Aliza Gallo, business development services manager for the city.

A sign at the front of the store boasts 6,000 titles, but De Lauer's famed selection of international publications has shrunk over the years and was discontinued, except for a couple of foreign papers, about five months ago, Lemme said.

Some shelves stood empty Tuesday. The business stopped receiving new supplies and is sending back unsold publications.

But a wide selection of books and magazines was still available Tuesday afternoon, with most major magazines and a bewildering array of specialty periodicals devoted to sports, cars, motorcycles and other interests, including purchasing military hardware (Military Trader) and keeping cats well (Feline Wellness). A back corner of the store boasted four varieties of farmers' almanacs.

One could also still purchase a Spanish version of a Haynes auto manual for Ford and Mercury vehicles made before Ronald Reagan was president. And would-be diplomats could buy "Master the American Foreign Service Officer Exam."

Some of the poorer clientele who can't afford to buy the publications have used De Lauer's as a place to spend hours catching up on their reading, Lemme said.

"This is not only a business place," he said. "It is also like a library."