Toys 'R' Us Closes Flagship Store In Times Square Wednesday: Reports

The massive Toys “R” Us superstore in Times Square, with its 60-foot Ferris wheel, 20-foot Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a life-size Barbie dollhouse, closed its doors for the final time Wednesday.

The closing signified the end of an era for area residents and tourists alike.

“It’s a one-in-a-million type of place,” Janet Roman told the Associated Press. Roman took her 9-year-old grand-nephew, Sherman Williams, to the store for the first — and last — time Wednesday. “Our Toys R Us doesn’t have a Ferris wheel in it.”

The 110,000-square-foot store opened in 2001 in the heart of Crossroads of the World, the AP report said.

People expressed their disappointment and sadness on Twitter regarding the store’s closing.

The company, as previously reported, decided not to renew its lease in its Crossroads of the World location due to the high cost of renting the space. The lease expires in January.

Clothing retailer Gap, Inc. has announced plans to rent space in the building for two of its apparel brand retailers, The Record reported.

The Wayne-based retailer will soon have another large store for people to find the latest toys at when it opens a 55,000-square-foot store at the American Dream center in 2017. A company spokeswoman told The Record that Toys “R” Us is “actively searching” for another flagship location in Manhattan.

More than 350 people worked at the store, according to The Record’s report, and the company is “working diligently” to place those workers in open positions at other Toys “R” Us stores.

(Pictured: The Toys “R” Us flagship store in Times Square/Wikipedia Commons)