Duncan Toy Store in New York: the famous store of "My poor little angel"
FAO Schwarz closed in 2015 and opened in a new location in 2018. If you go to New York, be sure to check out the Duncan Toy Store, a New York icon.
Three years after the beloved Fifth Avenue toy store closed, the iconic FAO Schwarz, the famous toy store from the movie "My Little Angel II," returns to New York. We tell you where the new headquarters are and why you can't stop visiting it if you go to Manhattan. Here, everything you need to know about Duncan New York Toy Store.
Duncan Toy Store in New York
The new "My Poor Little Angel" toy store is located two steps away from the giant Christmas tree, which is set up every year on the Rockefeller Center esplanade in Manhattan.
Although the historic toy store now has a surface area three times smaller than that of the previous store, closed in 2015, it retains all its magic.
A new FAO opened in Manhattan's Rockefeller Center, about 10 blocks from his old home near Central Park on Fifth Avenue.
Fao Schwarz in New York
For more than 150 years, FAO Schwarz has been known in New York City for its incredible toys, life-size and in some cases outrageously expensive.
The fancy shop, opened on Fifth Avenue in 1986, was a tourist attraction replete with games and music, doormen who looked like palace guards and a musical clock tower. It was a must stop when visiting the Big Apple, with or without children. But financial problems at the parent company and rising rents shut it down in 2015.
Happily, three years after it closed, New York's adorable FAO toy store has been revived. Let's remember that "I would like to be big" was also recorded there, with Tom Hanks. "The place has changed but the spirit and magic are still there," they all agree.
Fao Schwarz: the new toy store
Workers drilled, hammered and worked around the clock to prepare the new store. Employees stocked the shelves with hundreds of stuffed animals and other toys that have long defined the brand: bears, rabbits, elephants, chicks and more.
The city was moved by the great news that reached the front page of the newspapers: "the great clock tower at the entrance has returned", they celebrated. As soon as you arrive, the employees, dressed as little soldiers, will welcome you to the store and, once inside, you will immediately see one of the house brands: the giant stuffed animals of giraffes, tigers, lions and more.
On the first floor you will find a magic games section, a baby adoption center (where they issue a certificate to the doll's future dad or mom) and a Melissa & Doug supermarket, one of the most fashionable toy brands in the world. United States, where children can buy everything from carrots to detergent (like the Children's Museum in Buenos Aires).
On the second level of the new FAO, a large space of 6,900 square meters, visitors can find the famous giant piano keyboard mat as the one Tom Hanks danced to "Heart and Soul" in the 1988 movie "Big".
The instrument, 6 meters long with 60 keys, is reflected in the ceiling for the people in the square below to see. The replicas for sale cost $128 and there are all kinds of souvenirs to take home this fantastic memory.
There's also a toy grocery store where kids can shop for artificial goods, complete with little carts, a checkout counter, and kitchen supplies.
For $75, a new interactive station lets kids adopt baby dolls, while a "nurse" provides lessons on how to care for them. Girls can spend hours playing there and more and more boys are joining the proposal, something that the toy store favors and the modern city celebrates.
The shop offers live magic shows nearby, along with a place to assemble custom remote-controlled cars.
Among other cool things, you'll be amazed by an 8-meter-tall rocket that's packed with teddy bear astronauts
David Niggli, director of merchandising for the new FAO toy store in New York, said that the new headquarters offers novel "experiences", something different from what other toy stores offer. "The key to this store is the customer experience," he said.
"When you buy online, you don't interact with employees who were hired in theater scenes, you can't see the characters in their costumes, you don't participate in the process of adopting a doll. These are unique things," Niggli explains.
The new FAO Schwarz toy store: address and opening hours
It is located in Rockefeller Center, on the ground floor of the famous 30 Rock building, home to the Top of the Rock observatory.
It is the largest toy store in New York. It has two floors divided into different sections: stuffed animals, magic games, dolls, sweets, etc. It offers incredible interactive experiences.
Open every day of the week.
More information on their website.
History of FAO Schwarz
The FAO Toy Store was founded in 1862 by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz. It is a toy store that specializes in high-end toys, some imported from Europe. In the 20th century, luxury items included, for example, a pink, Barbie-themed soccer table for $25,000.
There are some fancy items in the new store, but also many modestly priced items.
"We have beautiful handcrafted pieces here, like rocking horses, but we also have items that are $10. There's always going to be some of those over-the-top items. I think that's part of what you come to see at FAO. It's part of the magic "
The most luxurious item on sale might be a child-sized drivable Mercedes Benz studded with 44,000 Swarovski crystals. Base price: USD 25,000. “That is the core of FAO. It's the classics plus the 'Oh wow' stuff you've never seen before," Niggli said.
