By Anessa V. Cohen

So I guess we bid a sad farewell to FAO Schwarz. I used to take my kids there regularly during Chanukah time to see the decorated windows and the different skits and toy displays, which not only had the kids marveling in wonder but brought out the kid in all of us while we wandered through the store.

There were the magnificent dolls with their hand-made clothing and custom-designed houses and furniture–similar to the way these items were crafted in the 1800s, a time when only the very rich could afford to even consider buying such luxuries for their children to play with.

Don’t forget that huge keyboard that just about anyone entering the store felt compelled to dance on and maybe knock out a tune or two at the same time. This keyboard became even more famous as Tom Hanks danced his way down the keyboard with complete abandon in the movie Big.

My grandsons loved to visit the train display, watching both passenger and cargo trains coming and going from all directions with the conductors switching the rails and sending those amazing miniature trains through bridges, valleys, and an assortment of stations and depots.

You could spend hours going from exhibit to exhibit in that store, the extraordinary toys displayed from floor to ceiling making your head spin. Telling the kids, “Pick one thing!” was like asking them to figure out which “thing” was better than the other while you went from stand to stand, gazing trance-like at all the exotic items that FAO Schwarz had come up with to offer those looking for toys and dolls completely beyond the ordinary.

I did have the opportunity to bring my grandkids there several times so I feel good about this achievement; but it really is a shame that future generations will miss out on that Babes in Toyland experience–the likes of which only this delightful store offered. This store was also on the “Top-10” list of tourist attractions in New York; many tourists will probably bemoan the fact that it closed before they could experience the magic themselves.

It would have been nice if so many people complained about the decision to close this store that their company execs rethought the idea of closing this icon. In fact, rumors are circulating that they will reopen FAO Schwarz in a different location in Manhattan, rather than give up on a store that brought happiness to so many. I hope we will hear good news soon!

Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a licensed real-estate broker and a licensed N.Y.S. mortgage broker with over 20 years of experience, offering full-service residential and commercial real-estate services (Anessa V Cohen Realty) and mortgaging services (First Meridian Mortgage) in the Five Towns and throughout the tri-state area. She can be reached at 516-569-5007 or via her website, www.AVCrealty.com. Readers are encouraged to send questions or comments to anessa.cohen@AVCrealty.com.

 

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