They auctioned off a few childhood memories of New York on Thursday.
Giant Star Wars figures, an antique wooden rocking horse and a line of dancing jelly beans were among the lots on the block at the FAO Schwarz toy store, which has been a New York tradition for generations.
The 140-year-old store, famous for its real-life wooden soldiers who saluted customers, closed its doors last year after its parent, toy retailer FAO Inc., twice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
The day after Christmas, FAO agreed to sell its stores on New York's Fifth Avenue and in Las Vegas to a unit of D.E. Shaw Laminar Portfolios LLC for $20 million. The buyer plans to remodel the stores and reopen this summer with new inventory.
Hence the auction of display items and other memorabilia on Thursday, which attracted more than 160 bidders in New York and more in Las Vegas and across the country online.
All proceeds are to be split between actor Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang camp for children with cancer, and the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation for children's charities.
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