If you liked dolls, you could get one made just for you and if you were into cars, you could create a custom Hot Wheels car in the workshop.įinally, in plain view of anyone on 61st, stood the famous light up giant keyboard. The Thomas the Tank Engine was a good starting point for most kids, but there were all sorts of people, trees, trains, etc. If you were into train sets, there were some great pieces of rolling stock and layouts. We both made ones in our likenesses that we still treasure. For $100, you defined head shape and color, eye color, nose, mouth and costume. Better still, they had a Muppets What Not Shop, where you could make your very own Muppet – preferably in your likeness. I did! For the little ladies, there was a nursery of ‘new-born’ dolls.Īs an anti-dote to the blatant commercialism, they also sold Smithsonian toys that taught kids about science, geology and technology. If you headed up the escalators, you were greeted by a galaxy of Star Wars toys, Toy Story Woodies and Teenage Mutant Turtle toys. Downstairs at FAO Schweetz, there was enough candy to keep the dentists and gyms in business for at least a couple of generations. Two-meter tall giraffes, pygmy elephants and fake-furred zebras hold court near the escalators. The ground floor was dedicated to the fluffy and cuddly. Kids loved it and their parents would pretend to not want to go but would be swept up in the sheer childlike joy.įrom the real life toy soldiers guarding the front doors to the menagerie of stuffed toys, it was a place made for big kids (or kid-ults…or people who like men in uniforms – we’re not judging). Originally founded back in 1862 by Frederick August Otto (that’s the FAO) Schwarz, it was considered one of the biggest and most famous toy stores in the world.
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