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When Frederick August Otto Schwarz immigrated to Baltimore from Germany in 1856, he dreamed of opening "a magical toy emporium that featured extraordinary, one-of-a-kind toys from all over the world, while creating a theatrical experience to showcase merchandise in a way that would bring it to life." Six years later, he and his two older brothers opened "Toy Bazaar," a small fancy-goods store that sold stationary and toys. 150 years later, their store, having long since moved to New York City and been renamed FAO Schwarz, would be known around the world and crowned the oldest toy store in the United States. But all that changed last week, when the toy wonderland closed its famous Fifth Avenue doors for good. Its current owner, Toys "R" Us, cited rising rents as the reason for the departure, but tried to assure the public that they'd find a new location (they reportedly checked out a space in Times Square). For many of us, though, a different address–perhaps one without the giant floor piano that was immortalized in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie "Big"–will be a huge blow to our childhood nostalgia. So, while the fate of FAO Schwarz is still up in the air, let's take a trip down memory lane.
Learn the history of the toy store here

History

July 14, 2015

Aerial Photos Taken from a Helicopter May Give You Vertigo; The Ultimate Glamping Accessory

Catching up with Jonathan and Drew Scott, better known as HGTV’s “The Property Brothers.” [NYP] These charts show how Americans’ living arrangements have changed since 1967. [BI] A documentary airs tonight on PBS about the 1977 Blackout, when over 1,600 stores were looted and 1,000 fires were started. [Bowery Boogie] Photographer Jeffrey Milstein captures cities using […]

Uncategorized

July 7, 2015

Where the Hot Subway Cars Are; How to Fit an Entire Winery in a Cramped Apartment

The C train has the most hot subway cars with broken-down HVAC units. The L has the least. [WNYC] This guy put an en entire winery in his 550-square-foot NYC apartment, and it produces ten different types of wine. [Thrillist] Meet an 89-year-old watch repairman in downtown Manhattan. [Mashable] Time Out is opening a culture and food […]

Uncategorized

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 7/2-7/8

Image via Michael Dougherty/flickr

July 2, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 7/2-7/8

In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top picks for 6sqft readers which start tonight! Of course, July 4th is on everyone's mind this weekend. If you're not into battling the crowds along the East River to see the fireworks (of if you're not lucky enough to have east-side roof access!), we've rounded up some patriotic alternatives for festive Independence Day fun, including the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, a ride aboard a replica 1780 sailboat, and music and fireworks at the Seaport. If you're going to be out on the Island, be sure to check out the ArtHamptons fair. And before we celebrate our own independence, let's not forget about our neighbors to the north; an exhibit at Westbeth marks Canada Day with pieces from Canadian artists. Next, shift gears to Copenhagen, as this month's #MidnightMoment in Times Square will transport New Yorkers to the Danish city. There's also the "Summer Show" with Jorge Pardo, Jon Pylypchuk, and Dirk Skreber at the Petzel Gallery, free public hours at the Judd Foundation and a giant installation art exhibit at the Knockdown Center.
Get the details on all these events here

Events & Things To Do

July 1, 2015

Wave Cabinet by Sebastian Errazuriz Opens and Closes in One Fluid Motion

Sebastian Errazuriz is one of the most diverse designers around. Not only does he create quirky, functional furniture like this spiky-skinned chest, but he also comes up with unique public art works such as last year's giant golden cow piñata and the more recent yawning video installation in Times Square. His most recent thought-provoker is the Wave Cabinet, a furniture piece that opens and closes in one fluid motion. Made from lacquered baltic birch, steel, and glass, the "functional sculpture" can open in various movements thanks to 100 linked slats, each of which pulls on the following one like a paper fan.
Watch a video of the cabinet in action

June 29, 2015

VIDEO: See the 1970s Graffiti Culture of NYC in This BBC Documentary

Watch this 26-minute video without sound and you'll see a striking, visual portrait of the 1970s graffiti movement in NYC, where everything from park monuments to subway cars was covered in tags. Listen to the commentary, though, and you'll find something much deeper. Created as a mini-documentary for BBC, the video explores the root of graffiti culture. Is it folk art, youngsters marking their territory, planned-out vandalism, a result of pent-up anxiety, or quiet rebellion? Keep in mind this one of the roughest and crime-ridden decades in the city, so it's interesting to see how some of those interviewed saw graffiti as a parallel to the crime, while others felt it was an artistic alternative that typified the energy of New York.
Watch the video here

History

June 18, 2015

Photographer Natan Dvir Captures Real Life Against NYC’s Larger-Than-Life Luxury Ads

When we think of bigger-than-life ads most of are quick to point out Times Square as the mecca of all things wrong with our consumer culture. But the tourist trap is just one piece Manhattan's puzzle, which, if you really take a second to look around, is dripping with advertisements hawking everything from coconut water to acne treatments to Louis Vuitton handbags. While most would say that they don't even notice the ads—a lot like how the Empire State Building eventually is just there after you've been living in the city for so long—Israeli photographer Natan Dvir argues that the reality is that these oversized billboards profoundly shape our urban landscape and the way we experience it. His series “Coming Soon” captures the phenomenon.
More from Dvir's series here

City Living

June 17, 2015

VIDEO: What to Expect if You Were a Tourist Visiting NYC in the 1940s

Welcome to the "city of romance and excitement" in a time "where all roads lead to Gotham." This fascinating film produced by the city's PR arm back in the '40s is a total time warp that will transport you to the better days when everyone enjoyed travel by train, dapper suits were daily uniforms, and the New York skyline was downright demure with just the Empire State Building and Chrysler piercing the sky. Though all the landmarks featured are ones you'd expect to see (Grand Central, the Top of the Rock, The Statue of Liberty) and don't appear all that much different than they do now (kids were bathing in Washington Square Park's fountain back then too), a number of the shots and commentary provided by the film's narrator really highlight how much our city has changed (imagine a harbor full of Titanic-like ocean liners and no 432 Park). Watch the 22-minute video ahead.
Watch the video here

June 4, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 6/4-6/10

Kim Gordon, the unstoppable, inspirational Jane-of-all-trades leads the week with the opening of her latest fine art exhibition—as if playing in two bands and penning a best-selling memoir were not enough already. Novice art collectors can have their day at Cotton Candy for their very popular annual Tiny Trifecta, where all works by renowned artists are just $100. And being thrifty is in the air with the Museum Mile Festival which is offering free admission to nine museums along 5th Avenue. But if art isn't your thing, there's still lots more to do: get cultured with a French flick in Washington Square Park, or schooled at Lost Lectures as it returns to a secret, former ship-building warehouse somewhere in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
All the best events here

Events & Things To Do

June 4, 2015

A $500M Mansion Will Be the Country’s Most Expensive; The Naked Cowboy Rents in Queens

A CUNY professor is looking for plot to park his tiny, eco-friendly prefab home. [BU] A French financier is the buyer of 737 Park‘s $32M penthouse. [TRD] Who knew? Times Square’s Naked Cowboy rents in Queens. [BU] Think NYC’s penthouses are pricey? Apparently there’s a $500M mansion coming to Los Angeles. [Bloomberg] The $500M mansion […]

Real Estate Trends

June 3, 2015

Starchitecture Firm Snøhetta Will Design Vornado’s Penn Station Area Overhaul

Back in April, we learned that Vornado Realty Trust was hoping to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into revitalizing the Penn Station area with new retail space, public plazas, and other infrastructure. Now, Crain's reports that the developer has tapped Oslo-based starchitecture firm Snøhetta to handle the overhaul's master plan, the same architects responsible for the 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion and the public plaza in Times Square. Snøhetta will be responsible for creating a "framework" for both Vornado's Penn Plaza buildings and the surrounding street-level spaces. And in a similar vein to the recently approved One Vanderbilt scheme at Grand Central, the master plan will include closing off part of West 33rd to vehicular traffic in the hopes of creating a permanent pedestrian plaza near Madison Square Garden.
More details and specifics on the street closures ahead

June 3, 2015

POLL: Can Snøhetta Transform Manhattan’s Most-Hated Area?

Earlier today, we learned that Vornado Realty Trust tapped Oslo-based starchitecture firm Snøhetta to create a master plan for the redesign of the Penn Station area. Even the developer referred to Manhattan’s most-hated and most-congested location as “the collision of humanity.” But Snøhetta worked their magic creating the Times Square pedestrian plaza, so we want to know if […]

Real Estate Trends

FAO Schwarz To Close Flagship Fifth Avenue Store Ahead of Rising Rent

Image: Gary Burke via flickr.

May 18, 2015

FAO Schwarz To Close Flagship Fifth Avenue Store Ahead of Rising Rent

By Michelle Cohen

Beloved toy store FAO Schwarz has announced that it will shutter its midtown Manhattan store on July 15, citing rising rents, reports Bloomberg. Founded in 1862, the store, which is owned by toy chain Toys "R" Us, Inc., is the oldest toy store in the United States. The brand has long been known for its high-end dolls and life-sized stuffed animals and as the stuff of many a tiny tot's fantasies.
What does the future hold for the iconic toy store?

Real Estate Trends

May 14, 2015

Why Are There So Many Empty Storefronts in NYC?; LIC’s Citigroup Building May Become Condos

The Department of Buildings is getting a $120 million overhaul to help get stalled projects going again. [CO] A new shared bike lane will connect the East River Park to the Williamsburg Bridge. [Bowery Boogie] Here’s why there are so many vacant storefronts in trendy NYC neighborhoods. [Gothamist] Jared Kushner has made a $296 million […]

Real Estate Trends

NYC’s 1940s ‘Dream Airport’ Would Have Been on a Giant Midtown Rooftop

Manhattan Airport image via Archidose

May 12, 2015

NYC’s 1940s ‘Dream Airport’ Would Have Been on a Giant Midtown Rooftop

Imagine never having to sit in hours of traffic heading to JFK or enduring all the local stops on the 7 line trying to get to LaGuardia? Your dreams almost came true in 1946 with the proposed 990-acre Manhattan Airport, which would have "stretched 144 blocks from 24th to 71st Streets and 9th Ave to the Hudson River at 200 feet above street level," according to Untapped. The idea of real-estate mogul William Zeckendorf, who owned the Chrysler Building and Astor Hotel, the airport would have cost a whopping $3 billion, a staggering sum in the 1940s, which was planned to be paid off in 55 years from rental income.
More on NYC's Manhattan Airport

May 4, 2015

Robert De Niro Lived in a Penthouse with Seven-Car Garage; Leasing Starts at Brooklyn’s Tallest Tower

Turns out Robert De Niro called this extravagant penthouse with glass floors and a seven car garage home for two years. [NYP] Brooklyn’s upcoming tallest tower, the Avalon Willoughby West, has started leasing. Studios will go for $2,890 a month. [Brownstoner] A federal transportation bill could lead to the city to removing some of the oversize […]

Real Estate Trends

April 30, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 4/30-5/6

This week, I recommend taking a magical vintage-inspired boat ride set to romantic music, or experiencing old New York with an exhibition at the historic Westbeth Artists Housing's gallery. You can also gawk at the ill-fated Edie Sedgwick's beauty as Andy Warhol's Screen Tests take over Times Square, commemorate the life of urban activist—and Robert Moses nemesis—Jane Jacobs with over 200 free walking tours, or celebrate the vigor of the city with Michael Sorgatz's paintings. Leave your comfort zone and head to New Jersey–zip into Newark for the Gateway Project's ribbon cutting and party, or spend the day taking in the 1 million square feet of art space at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City.
All the best events here

April 16, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 4/16-4/22

This week, I suggest rediscovering Times Square, by participating in an incredible installation by Justin Bettman, and experiencing a screen-takeover with a short film by Peggy Ahwesh. Then observe and educate with a visit the Jewish Museum, or hit up Lincoln Center for a special art film program, an art exhibition that deconstructs notions of beauty, or an epic art fair catered toward photography. But if you're looking to shake it up and strike up a conversation with someone new, visit Salon Demimonde, a resurrection of the 17th century salons of the past where creatives and intellectuals can mix and mingle. You can also get your dance on at Aperture's Spring Party!
All the best events here

Events & Things To Do

April 16, 2015

VIDEO: Watch VICE Trying to ‘Make It’ in ’90s Canada, Well Before They Took Over Williamsburg

Long before VICE became a media giant gobbling up much of Williamsburg's north side real estate and displacing some of the neighborhood's beloved institutions, it was just a regular ol' start-up company consisting of three guys putting out an indie mag from a small office in Montreal. A recently uncovered video made for a '90s reality TV show transports us to that far more innocent time, introducing us to the founding fathers of the magazine, Suroosh Alvi, Shane Smith, and Gavin McInnes, and documenting their days as the get ready for a move to New York City with hopes of taking their publication to the next level. Although the then-best buds have long left the realm in which we normal folks dwell, the concerns they expressed in the video back then—"I'm scared of being poor there," McInnes says at one point—bring them back down to earth with us regular folks just trying to make it in the city. Jump ahead for an intimate look at the trio 15 years ago, chatting about the roots of the magazine and the saucy side of Canada—and watch as they stress out over searching for NYC apartments.
Watch the video here

History

April 15, 2015

It’ll Cost $32 Just to Walk into the WTC Restaurants; Video Parodies What MTA Conductors Really Think

A new book recounts what life was like as a squatter in the ’90s. [Bedford + Bowery] We know it’s going to cost $32 to visit One World Observatory, but you’ll have to pay the admission fee even if you just want to dine at one of the top-floor restaurants. [NYP] The Whitney museum will throw […]

Uncategorized

April 14, 2015

Never-Built Hudson River Bridge Would Have Been Twice the Length of the George Washington Bridge

If you've ever driven into the city from New Jersey and sat in a couple hours of traffic waiting to traverse either the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel, this 19th century idea for a Hudson River Bridge probably sounds pretty amazing. It would have spanned 6,000 feet from Hoboken to 57th Street in Manhattan, almost double the length of the George Washington Bridge, to give you an idea of its massiveness. Furthermore, it would have been 200 feet wide and 200 feet high, providing space for 12 railroads, 24 traffic lanes, and 2 pedestrian walkways. Its two 825-foot support towers would have surpassed the 792-foot Woolworth Building, which was the tallest skyscraper in the world at that time.
Read the full history here

History

April 13, 2015

VIDEO: RuPaul Takes Us Around the 1980s Meatpacking District and the Jane Hotel

We know all about the Meatpacking District's beginnings as the Gansevoort Market and the epicenter of meat marketers, as well as its current status as a burgeoning office tower district, but in the 1980s, this neighborhood was one to which most people didn't pay much mind. It was fairly run down, with its industrial tenants having moved out, and became notorious for prostitution, sex clubs, and drug dealing. But there was much more to the area, including an accepting LGBT community and a downtown music and entertainment scene. In this video we found from 1986, a young RuPaul takes us into his penthouse suite at the Jane Hotel, then known as the Jane West Hotel and far seedier than it is today, as well as walks around the gritty streets of the Meatpacking District and into his friend's 9th Avenue rowhouse, which will undoubtedly look familiar to anyone who's walked these cobblestone streets.
Watch the video here

History

April 13, 2015

Norman Foster’s 2 World Trade Center Could Get a Jumpstart Thanks to Rupert Murdoch