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FAO Schwarz
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FAO Schwarz is the name of a specialty toy retailer based in New York City.
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FAO Schwarz was founded in New York City in 1870 by German immigrant, Frederick August Otto Schwarz. The original name of the store was Toy Bazaar. The company traces its history back to 1862 in Baltimore, when Schwarz and his three brothers first began retailing toys from a fancy-goods store there. Additional locations of Toy Bazaar followed in Philadelphia and Boston. It was the New York location, however, that soon dominated the others in the family business.
FAO Schwarz was notably featured in the 1988 Tom Hanks film Big, in which Hanks and Robert Loggia played "Heart & Soul" and "Chopsticks" on the store's signature 22-foot piano.
At its height, the chain had a total of 40 stores throughout the United States. In 2001, The Right Start Company bought 22 of the 40 stores, and the other 18 unsold stores were immediately closed. In December 2002, Right Start, the then parent of FAO Schwarz, filed for bankruptcy. They would emerge from bankruptcy in April 2003 only to re-enter it in December 2003.
In February 2004, hedge fund D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., acquired the New York City and Las Vegas stores and FAO Schwarz's catalog and internet businesses. The New York and Las Vegas stores re-opened on Thanksgiving Day 2004.
The New York City store, located at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street in Manhattan, is still very popular and a famous destination in the city. The store was redesigned by architect David Rockwell of The Rockwell Group in collaboration with Paul Gregory of Focus Lighting in 2004. The Fifth Avenue flagship store now features a large open front area and award-winning lighting[1] which includes almost 80,000 LED lights mounted on the ceiling above the main atrium space. The Las Vegas Store is located in Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.
The two FAO Schwarz stores also include a cafe/ice cream parlor as well as a candy shop called "FAO Schweetz." Prior to the bankruptcies, standalone FAO Schweetz candy stores were located in Miami, Long Island, NY at the Source Mall and at Water Tower Place in Chicago, Illinois, but those are now closed.
FAO Schwarz opened a 4,000 sq. ft store within the Macy's Chicago State Street flagship store (formerly Marshall Field's) in October 2007. [1]
Current Locations
- Chicago - Inside Macy's on State Street (Opened October 2007)
- Las Vegas - Forum Shops at Caesars Palace (Flagship Location - Re-opened November 2004)
- New York City - Fifth Ave at 58th Street (Flagship Location - Re-opened November 2004)
- Scottsdale - Scottsdale Fashion Square
- Costa Mesa - South Coast Plaza
- Glendale - Glendale Galleria
- Los Angeles - The Grove at Farmers Market
- Sacramento - Arden Fair Mall
- San Diego - Horton Plaza
- San Francisco - Union Square (Flagship Location - Closed 2003)
- Denver - Cherry Creek Mall
- Farmington - Westfarms Mall
- Stamford-Stamford Town Center
- Bal Harbour - Bal Harbour Shops
- Miami - Shops at Sunset Place
- Orlando - International Drive
- Palm Beach Gardens - The Gardens Mall
- Tampa - WestShore Plaza
- West Palm Beach - Cityplace
- Atlanta - Lenox Square
- Buford - Mall of Georgia
- Chicago - N Michigan Avenue (Flagship Location)
- Oak Brook - Oak Brook Center
- Skokie - Old Orchard Center
- Indianapolis - Circle Center Mall
- Towson - Towson Town Center
- Boston - Boylston Street (Flagship Location - Opened 1991, Closed early 2004)
- Newton - The Mall at Chestnut Hill
- Troy - Somerset Collection
- Bloomington - Mall of America
- Minneapolis - The Conservatory
- Kansas City - Country Club Plaza
- St Louis - St. Louis Galleria
- Edison - Menlo Park Mall
- Short Hills - The Mall at Short Hills (Closed 2001)
- Garden City - Roosevelt Field
- White Plains - The Westchester - 12,000 sq ft (Opened March 1995)
- King of Prussia - King of Prussia Plaza
- Dallas - NorthPark Center
- Houston - Westheimer Road (Flagship Location - Closed 2002)
- McLean - Tysons Galleria
- Bellevue - Bellevue Square
- Seattle - 6th and Pike
- ^ Lumen Award Winners 2005. IESNY. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ "Reportedly He Will Head Frederick Atkins, Inc.", New York Times, September 9, 1969. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. "Charles W. Veysey, president of F. A. O. Schwarz, the Fifth Avenue-based specialty toy-chain, will resign at the end of the year and will reportedly be named president of Frederick Atkins, Inc., the second largest resident buying office and merchandising ..."
- ^ "People and Business; President for F.A.O. Schwarz", New York Times, June 11, 1976. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. "Pieter Oechsle, a 43-year old Peruvian retailer, has been named president of F.A.O. Schwarz, the Fifth Avenue-based chain of 16 toy specialty stores."