FAO Schwarz

FAO Schwarz is the name of an upscale specialty toy retailer headquartered in New York City. FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 under the name Toy Bazaar by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in Baltimore, where he and his brothers retailed toys from a fancy-goods store. Additional locations of... Read More

FAO Schwarz is the name of an upscale specialty toy retailer headquartered in New York City. FAO Schwarz was founded in 1862 under the name Toy Bazaar by German immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwarz, in Baltimore, where he and his brothers retailed toys from a fancy-goods store. Additional locations of Toy Bazaar followed in Philadelphia and Boston. However, it was the New York City location, where the name was changed to FAO Schwarz, that dominated the others in the family business after it was opened in 1870. The toy store became well-known for its unique plush toys and memorable environment that pioneered "entertainment retail," the philosophy that a store should be an experience for its attendees. In 1931 the New York location was moved to the southeast corner of 58th Street and Fifth Avenue (the site currently occupied by the Bergdorf Goodman Men's store). See Less