Iconic FAO Schwarz store in New York City to close
The iconic FAO Schwarz toy store in New York City is set to close, USA Today reports.
The location, which FAO Schwarz long has touted as its flagship, will shut its doors to Fifth Avenue on July 15 because of higher prices for rent.
But that's not the end of FAO Schwarz in the Big Apple.
The company is looking for another location in Manhattan, possibly near Times Square. It could open in late 2016, according to Bloomberg.
The company is working to find jobs for the 200 employees who work at the store, Bloomberg reports.
The Fifth Avenue location has been featured in several films. Its giant keyboard played a major role in the 1988 film "Big" starring Tom Hanks.
According to a 2004 article in the Chicago Tribune, parts of the company were acquired by an investment firm for $41 million when FAO Inc. declared bankruptcy. At the time, the investment firm, D.E. Shaw & Co., said the Fifth Avenue store would be preserved as a "cultural treasure."
"FAO Schwarz is more than just a toy store," and it has "a great deal of meaning to millions of children and former children," D.E. Shaw & Co. Chairman David E. Shaw told the Tribune at the time.