N.Y. / REGION

F. A. O. Schwarz to Close Its Doors on Fifth Avenue

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The F.A.O. Schwarz flagship store on Fifth Avenue. It has faced both rising rents and competition from discount and online retailers. Ben Hider/Getty Images 
F. A. O. Schwarz, the legendary toy store on Fifth Avenue, will close its doors July 15, a victim of rising rents and ultraluxury retailing in New York City’s hottest shopping district.
New Yorkers will have to make do with the F. A. O. boutiques inside Toys “R” Us stores or with online shopping.
But F. A. O. Schwarz, which has been a fixture in New York City for 145 years and a character in the 1988 Tom Hanks film “Big,” is actively scouring Manhattan for a new, less costly location.
The company has reportedly looked at a basement space in the 48-story office tower at 1633 Broadway. But no deal has been signed, and it is unlikely that a new store would open before the fall of 2016.
In a statement issued on Friday, Toys “R” Us, which owns F. A. O. Schwarz, said: “The company is committed to the F. A. O. Schwarz brand and growing its legacy.”
When the store closes in July it will be the first time since 1870 that New Yorkers have not been able to shop at F. A. O. Schwarz.
Both F. A. O. Schwarz and Toys “R” Us have been buffeted by competition from discount and online retailers.
Toys “R” Us plans to vacate its flagship store in Times Square, on Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets, at the end of 2016. That store opened in 2001, helping to rejuvenate a then-dowdy Times Square. But rents for block-front space in Times Square have since skyrocketed.
F. A. O. Schwarz once had 40 stores around the country. But in recent years, one store after another closed, leaving the Fifth Avenue location, in the General Motors Building between 58th and 59th Streets, as its sole location.
Toys “R” Us, a rival, acquired F. A. O. Schwarz in 2009 and the following year began opening F. A. O. boutiques at Toys “R” Us stores and selling F. A. O. baby products at Babies “R” Us stores.
F. A. O. Schwarz has been reviewing its lease on Fifth Avenue for years. The store reached an agreement with the owner of the General Motors Building, Boston Properties, to vacate before its lease expired in 2017. The store closing was reported by Bloomberg News on Friday.
In 1870, Frederick August Otto Schwarz opened a toy store, Schwarz Brothers — Importers, at 765 Broadway. In 1876 he opened a second shop farther uptown. The two stores combined in a move to Union Square, and the store was renamed F. A. O. Schwarz. The store moved a number of times, and to its current location in 1986.
Correction: May 15, 2015 
An earlier version of this article misstated when F.A.O. Schwarz moved to Fifth Avenue. While it has been at its current location, at 767 Fifth Avenue, since 1986, it operated elsewhere on Fifth Avenue previously.
A version of this article appears in print on May 16, 2015, on page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: F. A. O. Schwarz Will Close Fifth Avenue Store in July, Amid Rising Rent. Order Reprints|  Today's Paper|Subscribe