Landmark F.A.O. Schwarz Closing - New York Dies a Little

This news made my heart sink. I love New York and I love toys, so with word that the iconic flagship store of F.A.O. Schwarz is closing its doors, I was hit with genuine sadness.

The Toys “R” Us chain has owned F.A.O. since 2009, and while they claim the brand will continue within their stores and online, the venerable New York destination is closing years ahead of their 2017 lease expiration, “…providing the opportunity to realize meaningful rent savings,” another victim of skyrocketing New York real estate. The store is set to close its doors on July 15th.

F.A.O. Schwarz began as Schwarz Brothers Importers after the Civil War until one of the brother-partners made the store his own. Like Tiffany’s or the Plaza Hotel, F.A.O. Schwarz was a symbol of fantasy New York, but one that anyone could touch and experience. The store was on the NE corner of Fifth avenue and 58th Street, having moved from the earlier SE corner. It became a pop culture icon beyond the five boroughs after its appearance in the Tom Hanks film Big in 1988. Hanks' and Robert Loggia’s dance on the giant piano keyboard sent legions of tourists and children at heart into the store, anxious to capture a bit of that magic. Passing through the doors into the enormous space, giant clockwork figures spun and whirred, the huge tree talked, the music box sang, and endless varieties of stuffed animals beckoned to the young. The store was a haven for childhood. And while F.A.O. has always been a premium-priced retailer, parents of all means would take their kids there, knowing they could find something that they could afford, to give them that experience of transporting delight. It was truly a world of its own. 

The last time I visited the store was during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the bathrooms overflowing with drunken New Jersey teenagers. If they could deal with that, I figured they could deal with anything. 

New Yorkers will have to look elsewhere for their spaceships, Barbies, trains and Teddy bears. 

The city will endure, but a corner of Fifth Avenue – and of our imaginations – will never be quite the same.

Here are a few shots from my last visit: