FAO Schwarz, Toy store in Manhattan, United States
FAO Schwarz is a toy store at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, the brand's global flagship since November 2018. Its two-level sales floor holds life-sized stuffed animals, a toy grocery with child-sized carts, a build-your-own remote-control car station, and a rocket ship about 27 feet (8 meters) tall.
FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 by a German immigrant in Baltimore before moving to New York City. After a long run on Fifth Avenue, the store closed in 2015 and reopened a few years later at its current Rockefeller Center location.
The store sits in the heart of Midtown Manhattan and is easy to reach on foot from several subway stations and Penn Station. Visiting on a weekday tends to be more comfortable since the store can get very busy on weekends and during school holidays.
The walkable floor piano became famous through the 1988 film Big, where Tom Hanks plays "Heart and Soul" and "Chopsticks" on it at the New York store. The store also appears in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite and in Baby Boom (1987) and Big Business (1988).
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