FAO SCHWARZ - USA Luxury Toy Store closing their last (famous flagship

[LEGO Historian]

FAO Schwarz has been an American luxury toy store tradition since they first opened up in NYC in 1862. Their Fifth Ave. flagship store was the equivalent of Harrod's of London's toy department. Very up market and exclusive.

The went thru way too many owners since the last of the German Schwarz family finally sold out in 1963. Their current owner is closing the last of their 42 nationwide toy stores in July, not so much because of sales declines, but because of the increasingly high cost of doing business on Fifth Ave. in NYC. Their current owner is Toys R Us, which is looking for a new location in NYC. They do not want to eliminate the high brow toy brand name....

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/05/15/fao-schwarz-store-closing/27387753/

I remember visiting the store back in the 1980s, and their LEGO department was unparalleled in the USA. The store has been in several movies as well as being a NYC icon.

Here's a bit of history about the store....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAO_Schwarz

And there's a reason why FAO Schwarz was not just another toy store... as far as LEGO was concerned.... from 1962-72 it was one of the major USA toy stores that sold LEGO Exclusive sets. FAO Schwarz and Sears were the first toy store chains in the world that had LEGO exclusive sets... a tradition that carries on into the present.

Here is a 1970 FAO Schwarz mail-order catalog page.... all Samsonite LEGO... and even Samsonite table and chairs (non-LEGO)....

The LEGO Town Set at the top of this FAO Schwarz mail order page of 1970 is the very interesting 080 set... which was a set that merged LEGO Town System with the LEGO Train System. I don't recall any set that had this type of 2 complete systems in 1 set. The 080 set was only sold in continental Europe (not Britain, Ireland nor Australia).... and in the USA (not in Canada)... only at FAO Schwarz... known as the "Ambassador Set", with the 080 number (and Samsonite markings).

Besides the outside of the box, there were other subtle differences between the USA exclusive and the continental European basic set... such as the baseplates (USA version had all stud baseplates), and trees/bushes (USA version had the unpainted trees/bushes).

There is an entire chapter in my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide that pictures and maps out well over 60 different and unusual exclusive LEGO sets... some in plain brown mailing boxes, others always in colorful boxes, and some that came either way... in-store (colorful) or mail-order (brown cardboard box).

Since FAO Schwarz was the premier exclusive American toy store, they always had top of the line colorful box LEGO sets, often with names that sounded exclusive... such as the "Suburban", "Governor", "Diplomat", "Adventure", "Discovery" or "Ambassador" set names.

More to come....

[LEGO Historian]

The earliest known American LEGO ad for FAO Schwarz dates to late 1961, when LEGO was first introduced to the USA. LEGO was first produced at a Samsonite plant in Stratford Ontario Canada, packaged in boxes from a Detroit USA Samsonite plant, and shipped all over the USA in late 1961. Then in 1962 the Canada Samsonite plant also started LEGO sales in Canada.

Here is the Samsonite LEGO 1961 FAO Schwarz ad, which just lists the regular LEGO sets of that time (smallest to largest).... 705, 708, 711, 717 and large 725 Town Plan set. Interestingly enough, the Town Plan set layout is the one used for the European 810 Town Plan Set. Even the first USA/Canada Samsonite LEGO catalogs show the European 810 set, and not the USA/Canada 725 set....

Edited May 16, 2015 by LEGO Historian

[AmperZand]

That's sad news. I remember going to an FAO Schwartz in NYC on holiday once many years ago. I was in my DA then so don't recall what their LEGO offering was like.

Since becoming an AFOL in the early '90s, the only NY toy store I've been to was the big TRU in mid-town. They used to have a huge custom-built Empire State Building on display. I didn't even think of going to FAOS for LEGO.

Edited May 16, 2015 by AmperZand

[AFOLguy1970]

I would have very much like to have taken my boys to NYC during the holiday season to see this store and Rockefeller Center among other things. The cost of a family trip there is somewhat prohibitive. It is a shame they have to close it, but I can understand about the high rent situation.

[LEGO Historian]

It's amazing when they perform on th huge floor piano.....

[jfbat]

I've seen Big (the movie) quite a few times, it's one of my favourites from that period. And it features the big piano. So when we visited NY some years ago, I just had to see it in real life. Got to play the big piano too! Impressive, but also expensive store. Sad to hear it's going to close.

[splatman]

Mention of the floor piano here got me recalling

(unrelated) stair piano.

[62Bricks]

I recall walking down 5th Ave on a humid summer day and suddenly entering into a stream of cool, dry air. I looked around for the source of it, and saw that FAO Schwarz had its front doors propped open and were shooting the AC out onto the sidewalk. It was definitely bringing people into the store, but was probably a spendy way to do it.

The LEGO section was pretty good last time I was there, and they had some sets that you usually only see at LEGO stores and never at the big-box retailers.

[djtinylove]

This is certainly sad news. Loved going here as a kid, their selection was second to none. Glad I was able to get back there last year.