Playtime Over At FAO Schwarz On Fifth Avenue

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The world of fantasy that was FAO Schwarz's flagship store is no more.

Driven out by soaring rent, the doors of the iconic Fifth Avenue toy store closed for good at the end of the day.

The final customers walked out of FAO Schwarz, and just after 8 p.m. the iconic toy soldiers closed the doors of its flagship location, and a security guard locked them for the last time.

FAO Schwarz has operated in Manhattan for nearly a century and a half, spending the past 29 years in the General Motors Building.

That location's star turn in the movie "Big" put it on the map, with Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia prancing across the massive piano to "Chopsticks."

The piano had been a main attraction ever since.

"I didn't think it was going to close because it has, like, the piano and stuff, and everybody loves that," a 9-year-old girl who was at the store Tuesday told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.

As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, it may not be long before the store finds a new home.

There have been rumblings that FAO Schwarz, owned by Toys R Us, is close to a deal for a new flagship store in Times Square. According to reports, rent there would be a fraction of the cost, and the new store could be open by Christmas.

"As our toy soldiers prepare to close the doors to our Fifth Avenue residence, we look forward to greeting you to the sound of 'Chopsticks' on the BIG Piano at our new home," a sign at the store read.

Nevertheless, tourists and locals said goodbye to the store over the past couple of days, snapping photos with the employees dressed as toy soldiers out in front while wide-eyed kids with parents in tow ran through the store one last time.

Patricia told 1010 WINS' Al Jones she felt a bit sad walking through the store one last time Wednesday.

"I've come for so many years and I'm 39 years old, so I wanted to get the last of the toys because there are some kids I know that have never had a toy purchased for them here," she said.

"I come today because it's closing today, too. It's very famous," said a woman who was visiting from Brazil.

"We love this store," a woman who regularly visits FAO Schwarz with her 4-year-old son said Tuesday.

Another Manhattan woman who was shopping there Tuesday hadn't heard about the closing.

"I don't feel so bad about the $80 stuffed animal I just bought," she said after hearing the news.

The store attributed the decision to leave to the "continuing rising costs of operating a retail location on Fifth Avenue in New York City."

Joshua Strauss, with commercial real estate agency RKF said that's what happens with prime real estate locations, both commercial and residential.

"It's a natural progression of the city, certainly in retail, that as  business gets stronger and more people come into the city, that rents are going to get higher," Strauss said.

A spokesperson for the store told CBS2 that while they are sad to close their location on 5th Ave, they are excited about the opportunity to create a new flagship store, and are actively searching in midtown Manhattan.