TRIUMPHANT RETURN: LEGO To Bring A Flagship To The Toy Center

For nearly 75 Years, the immense building at 200 Fifth Avenue was well known as the International Toy Center, one of several buildings around the intersections of Fifth Avenue, Broadway and 23rd Street that formed a Toy District of sorts including the headquarters of most well known toy and game companies. When the central building was repositioned as a prestige office building in 2009, the toy companies that hadn't already decamped for other neighborhoods dispersed, and now, the building is better known as the home of Italian cuisine superstore Eataly and a Marimekko boutique, but a reminder of the building's true heritage is set to appear soon. This Summer, Lego will open a major flagship in the building's corner store space (pictured above). Though there is a smallish Lego store just off Rockefeller Center's Channel Gardens, this unit will encompass 3,535 square feet for retail plus another 481square feet for a reading and play space. Now the beloved toy brand will have enough room to present a much broader assortment from its vast product range along with, in all likelihood, a few of its signature, oversized fantasy and architectural constructions. A soft opening is planned for mid-July, with an entire weekend in August set aside for a Grand Opening celebration that's bound to be be a must-attend event for kids all over the city. From the looks of a peek inside earlier today, Lego has its work cut out for it for the next couple of months, but that should give you plenty of time to plan a trip there later this Summer with your favorite Lego-loving kid (or grownup)

Lego's Flagship Store to Launch in Flatiron in July (DNAinfo)