Jenn Pelly The new Wired store at Broadway and East Fourth Street offers a range of gifts for the geek in your life. Below: QR code artwork traces ancestry via DNA strands, a Wampa rug and a USB typewriter.

Jenn Pelly

‘Tis the season to geek out hard — at 692 Broadway, at least. Currently home to Wired magazine’s sixth annual pop-up store, the space will be granting holiday wishes of hardcore technophiles and plugged-in teens alike through Dec. 26.

The three-story location, formerly Tower Records until 2006, is an 8,000-square-foot techie mecca, coined by Wired as an “experiential gallery.” Entering feels like stepping out of a time machine into year 2050. As The Local took a spin through on Friday, shoppers — namely thirtysomething males dressed in black with sleek haircuts — tested a dynamic array of cutting-edge gadgets, from Smartphones and flat-screen televisions to a futuristic tennis table. The Wired lifestyle’s glossy pages came to life, its pulse kept by a looming, minimal techno beat.

With over 200 Wired-curated products on display, this year’s holiday outpost is the magazine’s biggest and “most centrally located” to date, according to senior editor Jason Tanz. “It’s a sign of how much faith we have in tech culture,” Mr. Tanz told The Local on Friday. “We view it as a central part of life in New York. Downtown is clearly the cultural hub of New York, and technology is becoming a larger and larger part of that.” Previously in SoHo and the Meatpacking District, the shop’s in-store events will include “GeekDad” family days, wine tastings, and musical events: DJ Nomi Ruiz and Gordon Voidwell on Dec. 1, Ra Ra Riot on Dec. 8, and Tokyo Police Club on Dec. 15. (RSVP required.)

Mr. Tanz likes the store’s Antique USB Typewriter ($499-699), and the “Star Wars” Lego chess set — “People who have no interest in ‘Stars Wars’ have to admit it’s pretty cool,” he said — but topping his wishlist is a set of sleek, wooded Davone Ray speakers ($5,995).
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