For a time it was the second-largest toy store chain in the United States. Lionel ran into financial trouble during the early 1980s recession and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 1982. A line forms every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday morning at the Kiddie City toy store (on) West Ridge Road, stated a 1984 Democrat and Chronicle article. The Lionel trademarks were purchased by Richard Kughn, a real estate magnate who had bought the Lionel model train line from General Mills in 1986. 725 W Redbridge Street Albany, NY - (Opened January 22, 1988) - Has a Justice & Brothers/Disney section. In 2006, Marshall Fields became part of the Macy's chain. Home Depot moved into the Greece Kiddie City site where I worked. Lionel attempted to keep the pace with the changing trends by offering space and military-themed train sets and coming out with their own HO line of trains. It was followed by a model of the city of Denver's successor, the city of Portland. [1] Lionel trains have been produced since 1900, and their trains drew admiration from model railroaders around the world for the solidity of their construction and the authenticity of their detail. In 1989 Robert I. Toussie L.P., a partnership of several retail executives, attempted to buy the company. For a time it was the second-largest toy store chain in the United States. In the early 1990s, the operation ran into financial difficulty and . The stores also offered layaway to customers, which was unusual for a toy retailer. . One year later, Lionel released a model of the American Freedom Train to celebrate the nation's bicentennial. Whilst a number of equally successful streamliners were issued in the following years, the handcar experiment was not repeated and the novelty market was left to the cheaper toy manufacturers. Let Lionel (Kiddie City/Playworld) turn that frown upside down! Google Pay [11], In 1959, Cowen and son sold their interest in the Lionel company and retired. It now connects Riverview Park, Sloan Park and Mesa's Riverview shopping center to Tempe Town Lake. The business direction of the Lionel company changed: it added subsidiary companies unrelated to toy train sets among them were Dale Electronics, Sterling Electric Motors, and Telerad Manufacturing. Russian philanthropist built a rags-to-riches drugstore out of Rochester. In its segment "Who Made America?," PBS called Wanamaker's department stores "palaces of consumption that turned shopping into an event for ordinary people.". By 1991, the chain grew to 100 stores and was the fourth-largest toy retailer in the country, but once again ran into trouble due to a combination of factors. Report this profile Report Report. USPTO Trademarks Lionel L.l.c. Defunct Nichols City Store Chain Match Book. Operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy . [14], Lionel's efforts to diversify failed to compensate for the public's declining interest in its toy trains. By the early 1980s, Lionel operated 150 stores. LIONEL KIDDIE CITY Lionel L.l.c. Whatever Happened To? Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Hallmark Kiddie Car Classics 1956 Garton Hot Rod Racer Diecast Winners Circle at the best online prices at eBay! In 1925, American Flyer jumped into the standard gauge market; and by 1926, Dorfan started making their own standard gauge trains as well. Lionel responded by targeting advertising at children, telling them its products were the most realistic toy trains. Trademark Application Details. On September 8, 1965, Joshua Cowen died at the age of 88 in Palm Beach, Florida.[9]. Kiddie City had kangaroo mascots (named Kaycee and Baby) and catch phrases like Toy Capital of the World and Turn that Frown Upside Down. The stores were among the first toy supermarkets in the area and Kiddie City became one of the biggest toy retailers in the country. from 1950 to 1951, Lionel produced the 736 Berkshire, which was basically a 726 with Magne-Traction. Lionel Playworld. The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen & His Lionel Train Company by Ron Hollander. Ames was started in 1958 in Massachusetts by brothers Milton and Irving Gilman. The Lionel brand name continues today, owned by Lionel, LLC, yet many Lionel train enthusiasts consider 1969 the end of the "true Lionel trains", due to the original Lionel Corporation divesting itself of toy train production and the changes in design and manufacture, sometimes for the worse, under Lionel trains' new owners.[6]. under the names Lionel Kiddie City, Lionel Playworld, and Lionel Toy Warehouse. Child World was founded by Sid Schneider and Joseph Arnesano in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1962. That was my one and only time in mascot gear. In 1991, it sold its trademarks to Lionel Trains, Inc. for $10 million and eventually went out of business in 1993. For a time it was the second-largest toy store chain in the United States. By the early 1980s, Lionel operated some 150 stores, under the names Toy City, Lionel Kiddie City, Lionel Play Town, Lionel Playworld, Lionel Toy Warehouse, and Lionel Toy Town. PayPal . Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. The music that played there like Michael Jacksons then-new Off the Wall album was hard to ignore. Sponsored. Before there was Toys 'R' Us, children were begging their parents to take them to places like Lionel Kiddie City and Playworld. Michael J. Vastola & Mark Katz visit LIONEL KIDDIE CITY on Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, March 28, 1984. I bought nearly all of Avalon Hill's wargame library in there during the early . [19] After a string of unprofitable quarters, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 14, 1991. "When the Lights Went out at Lionel", Liebeck, Laura: "Deja vu all over again: Lionel re-visits Chapter 11", Discount Store News July 8, 1991, "Liquidations leave Toy's R US, Kay-Bee toying alone", Discount Store News, July 5, 1993, "Lionel Leisure 'branches out': toy retailer acquires part ownership of closeouter", Discount Store News, September 17, 1990, Liebeck, Laura: "Child World is grounded: rescue by Lionel falters", Discount Store News, August 3, 1992, "Lionel closing 27 stores in struggle for survival", Discount Store News, February 1, 1993. Arrested along with his accomplice, his younger brother Danny, and sentenced to 8 years in prison; released on September 8, 2010, was recalled on March 13, 2011, for associating with gang members. However, the company's innovations often were copied by its bigger rivals who eventually succeeded in causing the chain's demise. Completely animated, too - many of their ads at the time were. Ferkauf's business model of selling high volumes of products at deep discounts 10% to 40% below other conventional stores with quick turnover can still be seen in today's retail landscape with big businesses like Walmart and Costco, according to the New York Times. Lionel Kiddie City was an American Toy store under the ownership of Lionel Corp.. By the early 1980s, Lionel operated some 150 stores, under the names Toy City, Lionel Kiddie City, Lionel Playworld, Lionel Toy Warehouse, and Lionel Toy Town. Lionel avoided bankruptcy and emerged from receivership the next year. This Sensory Guide was created to help assist visitors with determining whether a playground or attraction would be sensory appropriatefor someone with a cognitive/sensory sensitivity. It's fun, informative and FREE to join. The buyer was Cowen's grandnephew, Roy Cohn (businessman and attorney to Senator Joseph McCarthy) who replaced most of Cowen's management. [6], As part of the diversification, Lionel formed a relationship with the Porter Chemical Company, whose owner, Harold M. Porter, was a member of the Lionel Board of Directors. Ken Capuano of Rochester posted about waiting in line for a Coleco computer and the bevy of cutting-edge toys and hobbies. Carol Kanis Sorgi posted about visiting Kiddie City on Black Friday 1986, waiting in lines and fighting crowds, managing to get the toy that her son wanted, and then finding out it wouldnt fit in her car. used cars naples, fl under $3,000. After reducing itself in size to 55 stores, it emerged from bankruptcy in September 1985. The Kiddie City chain, which is remembered for its kangaroo mascot, was primarily known for its trains and catchphrases like "Toy Capital of the World" and "Turn that Frown Upside Down.". Lionel ran into financial trouble during the early 1980s recession and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 1982. He was released and recalled several more times. The company was headquartered in Port Washington, New York. Before the shoe store was purchased by the larger corporation in 1963, it was a family-operated busines selling reasonably priced footwear as early as 1894. Lionel Corporation, through a subsidiary, sells toys and leisure items through some 28 toy supermarkets in seven Eastern states under the names "Lionel Play- world," "Lionel Kiddie City" and . Stores also went under the names: Toy City, Lionel Playworld, Lionel Toy Warehouse, and Lionel Toy Town. One year later, Lionel began production of their famous Santa Fe F3. The tank car was manufactured in 1974 and the box car on 1975. They were putting their hands out and smiling. My experience was different. 60-foot long caterpillar mesh rope climbing structure. For me it was Lionel Kiddie City, an off-shoot I believe of Roy Cohn's holding company that rode JLC's Lionel namesake to the bottom. At its peak in 1990, Brendle's operated 58 showrooms in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. [3] Unable to reach an agreement for reorganization with its creditors, on June 2, Lionel announced its intention to liquidate all of its stores and go out of business.[4]. Woolworth, which opened in 1879 in Utica, New York, was one of the original discount stores, also known as five-and-dime stores at that time. I got the costume for Oscar the Grouch, from Sesame Street. [2] In 2006, Lionel's electric train became the first electric toy inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Lionel Corp., famous for the model trains it once made, announced Wednesday it will go out of business, closing its financially troubled chain of discount toy stores. Modell's carries both sporting goods and related apparel. Defunct Jamesway Store Match Book. In 1947, Lionel produced a model of the Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1. But after 156 years in business, the company filed for bankruptcy for a second time and shuttered its stores in 2015. Public Transportation options to Sloan Park and Riverview Park. To a young kid here on earth in the late 1970s, heaven was a toy store on Baltimore Pike in Springfield, Pennsylvania called Lionel Kiddie City. Some were terrified. From 1953 all the way until 1968, the 736 was produced again. Also in 1922, Boucher bought out VoltAmp and started making what was known as the "Rolls-Royce" of standard gauge trains.
