FAO Schwarz, America’s oldest toy store, closes its doors in Manhattan

The FAO Schwarz toy store owned by Toys R U on New York City's Fifth Avenue is taking a final bow. It began in 1870 and is closing its doors for good and there are possibilities that it may reopen elsewhere in midtown Manhattan.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 15 July 2015.

The decision had been announced in May and the reason cited was the costs of operating the 45,000-square-foot retail space. A sign on the window read - 'See you soon...let us pause and reminisce.' This could mean seeing it reopen elsewhere.
The company had been in New York City since 1870 and began in the GE building at 58th Street and 5th Avenue in 1986. This outlet had a candy store, three levels of specialty toy departments and personal shoppers. It has been featured in a number of movies, including 'Big,' where Tom Hanks played the song chopsticks by dancing on the store's large floor piano.
As far as celebrities go, the store has seen famous parents like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham who have bought gifts for their little ones.
Historically speaking, FAO Schwarz was founded by German immigrant Frederick Otto Schwarz and his two brothers. They had started with a store called Toy Bazaar in Baltimore, Maryland in 1862. Subsequently, Schwarz brought the business to New York City in 1870 and renamed it to FAO Schwarz, while his brothers continued to run other stores in Baltimore and Boston.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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