By the time of Schwarz’s death, his company was offering more than sixteen thousand items. The Schwarz store was always in a class by itself, without competition. Adults as well as children were enticed by his elegant displays of exquisitely crafted merchandise that included authentically detailed toy soldiers, handmade dolls with elaborate wardrobes in mini-Vuitton trunks, models of fully rigged sailing vessels, exotic stuffed animals covered with real fur, working reproductions of trains and carriages, and a host of other miniature replicas of the adult world.ĭespite growth in department store toy departments, Schwarz maintained sales levels because of the unique quality of the toys he offered. In 1897, he moved farther uptown, to 39-41 West Twenty-third Street, a double building comprising seven floors with a block-long basement used to store inventory. In 1889, Schwarz added his initials to newspaper advertisements, identifying the store as “FAO Schwarz,” although the “Toy Bazar“ named continued until the move to 39-41 West 23rd Street. By the end of the decade he was reputed to be the largest toy dealer in the world. The same year Schwarz moved the business uptown, to larger quarters at 42 East Fourteenth Street. In 1876, the company issued its first catalog, attracting an even wider consumer base and creating one of the first mail order businesses in the country. Santa became a Schwarz fixture every holiday season thereafter and inspired other stores, including Macy’s, to offer their own versions. In fact, it was this type of merchandising that led Schwarz to introduce the first live “department store” Santa Claus in December 1875.
He moved to New York City in 1870 and opened the Schwarz “Toy Bazar” at 765 Broadway - a location that placed him at the center of what was then New York’s most fashionable shopping district, before it moved up to Union Square and then Madison Square.Ī clever marketing strategist from the outset, Schwarz changed the way people shopped by creating a theatrical experience to showcase his merchandise - a trait that the store has carried forward to the present day and one of the reasons its General Motors store has always been a must-see tourist attraction. With his brothers, Frederick founded “Toy Bazar” (sic) in 1862. He joined two older brothers who had already established themselves as importers of high-end toys and luxury goods from Europe. It was the logical place for a store offering the finest, one-of-a-kind toys available in the country.įrederick August Otto Schwarz, an immigrant from Westphalia, Germany, arrived in the United States in 1856 and settled in Baltimore. The north and east sides of Madison Square Park were lined with the homes of the best families in New York City, and restaurants, theatres, and world class hotels ran up Broadway from 23rd to 34th Streets. At the height of the Gilded Age, this was the northern end of Ladies Mile and the center of fine shopping. On such a busy street with wall-to-wall high rises, the parking lot space is particularly noticeable and prompts the question “Something must have been there what was it?”įrom Apuntil 1931, this spot was the location of FAO Schwarz, now the oldest toy store in the United States. If you live or work in the NoMad District, you probably pass the parking lot on the north side of 23rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue several times a week.
While the past few generations associate this store with its Central Park location, the history of the establishment runs right through NoMad.
With FAO Schwarz closing, the legendary toy store has been on the minds of New Yorkers and travelers alike.
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