Retro: Toy City in California
The view inside a Toy City store
Original image found at Plaid Stallions
Every once in a while, I go back into my thoughts of how life was growing up. More often than anything, my thoughts go to my toys I had, owned and played with. For the most part, in the 1960’s and 1970’s, I remember very fondly the store I spent most of my time and money at: Toy City.
The store I remember going to was located in Westminster, CA, in the south west corner of Brookhurst St. and Westminster Blvd. There was a set of stores and Toy City was at the very end of the row. I remember buying all sorts of toys there like Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels and later when video games and electronics were all the rage, Mattel Electronics handheld games and Electronic Battleship were what I planned on getting.
I bought one of my first Slip n’ Slides there, along with Frisbees and Silly Putty and Slinkys [tangled up, I ended up buying a few over the years at under a buck each] were memorable toys.
Newspaper Ad
An ad for Toy City – circa 1981 via Los Angeles Times
Original image was at Newspapers.com (page has been removed)
I used to scour the ads that Toy City placed in the local newspaper. They had copies of the ads hanging in each check stand. You would almost find something you wanted on sale most weeks.
Going back to Matchbox cars, I remember how they came in their own boxes. I still have some today [once I find what box I have them in, I will do another retro post about Matchbox cars] that I’ve saved over the years. I’m amazed at what I’ve been able to hang onto, given how much that’s been misplaced over the years.
I cherish these memories of going to the toy store because it was something I really looked forward to. I loved toys and still collect and play with some today. And it was one of the happiest times I remember about growing up. I so wish that I had pictures of the Toy City store I used to visit. It wasn’t very common of kids to get their photos taken in some random store. We didn’t carry cameras around with us. I had a paper notebook that I used to write down the toys I wanted. We called the store on the phone from home to ask if they had a certain toy. So the photos I found here were hard to locate online, but even still, brought back my many memories of my many visits to Toy City.
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I had so many toy and department stores I frequented as a kid. I miss them all. TRU, Target, and Walmart just can’t compare.
Agreed. The big box stores don’t hold a candle to the local toy stores we frequented as kids.
I have very fond memories of playing with the original Star Wars stuff in the late 70s. Used to make rebel bases in my parents front garden. Those were the days!
Oh how cool. Such great memories, aren’t they? Glad to hear of those playtimes.
Growing up, my mother worked at the Toy City Stores… First in Brea, (in the former Safeway, now Vons (I think) shopping center) then the huge store that opened in Fullerton at the Orangefair Mall, and later at the LaHabra store. All gone now, hell- the man who owned the stores was as I remember, already elderly more than 30 years ago. But it was cool as hell as a kid to have mom work at the toy store.
That is a great story about your mom working at Toy City.
These were my father’s stores. What was your moms name?
I used to go to that very same store! I used to buy model cars from there, so much so, that the lady knew me well enough that she would sell me model glue to build them if I needed it. I was under age, but she knew I wasn’t using it to get high! That’s trust huh.
I loved their selection and their prices, $5 would buy me a kit and some paint for it. The glue was a quarter, paint was 59 cents, the kits were between $2.88 and $3.88. They had a Clearance section and sometimes I’d luck out and find a good kit with a damaged box for half price!
Those were the days.
Thanks for sharing your Toy City memories, Patrick. I used to put together model cars. The glue used to get all over the place, but I got better at keeping it under control with each model car I built.
When I was a kid in the late 70s – early 80s I sometimes would go to the Matchbox case on the far west end of the store on the front counter that they had there. Yes, they did sell them in the boxes. As I recall, you had to ask the lady to pull the car from the back of the case for you to purchase, and they would hold it there until you were ready to pay for your items. (probably due to shoplifters). I can distinctly remember seeing a lilac colored 57 Chevy with the flip front and the aqua colored 76 Firebird in there. I think I bought a red AMG Mercedes Benz 500 and a light blue Porsche 935 there. I still have them today! Never played with them, I liked them too much.
Do you remember Tomy Pocket Cars? Toy city used to have a big display of them on one of the end caps at the front of the store. Same size as Matchbox and they were a buck a piece and I loved buying them because they looked so real!
Or the big giant case on the east end of the store, that had the Matchbox King Size and Corgi cars in it. They were about 1/43 scale and too expensive for my childhood budget – but they were cool to look at. They were right across the isle from the model kits, so I looked at them every time I went there.
I also remember the smell of the store. Walking in and feeling the cool A/C on a hot summer day and the smell of all the new plastic and cardboard boxes for the toys was sensory overload. I would just hang out there with my sister and my friends, trying to decide what we were going to spent our newly earned money on. It was one of my favorite childhood memories.
Maybe you were at the store at the same time we were! that would be a small world.
I wish the store was still there so I could take my kids to experience what a TOY STORE really is. Not like today where it’s just a sideline department to a bunch of other things. Even Toys R Us isn’t what it was when we were kids.
Its too bad… now it’s just easier to click on a website and have it delivered to your door, rather than the wonder and awe we used to experience seeing all the great stuff we could potentially play with and it was right at your fingertips!
I still have some of those Matchbox cars in the boxes (although I took them out to play with them). I tried to protect them as best as I could over the years. I bet the store I used to go to (as mentioned in the post above) is one we both were at, perhaps during the same visit.
You described the very same memories I have of TOY CITY. The smell of a retail store. I also have similar smell memories of walking into a 7-Eleven with the sugar and candy aromas.
My daughter has only experienced Toys R Us and K-B-Toys, which is not the same as what we experienced in the 70’s.
Thanks again for sharing your toy store memories. Very much appreciated here.
Thanks for the article. I remember Toy City as well. This one from the picture is in Anaheim off of Lincoln Ave and Western in Anaheim, CA. I can tell because of the McDonalds in the window. If you’re outside of the store facing Western you’ll still see the McDonald’s is still there (newly renovated of course). A lot of people don’t remember Toy City only Toys R Us and KB toy stores since they were in all the malls. I remember because Toy City was the only store that I remember that carried the GI Joe ammo packs. No GI Joe figure just a pack that had guns, swords, anything weapons. Which as a kid I thought was cool because you can give your Joe 5 guns strapped to him lol. Definitely brings back good child hood memories of my parents taking me and my brother and sisters there as kids in the 80’s and early 90’s.
You are most welcome. And thanks for identifying the Toy City location. And for sharing your Toy City experiences and memories.
I was NOT a Toys R Us kid. I used to go to the same Toy City and Brookhurst and Westminster as a kid in the early-mid 80s. I didn’t know there was one in Anaheim, but I do remember my grandparents in Corona taking my brothers and me to the one down the street from them and giving us each $100 to spend in 1986.
I live in Huntington Beach now, and I’m reminded of Toy City every morning when I’m sitting in the McDonald’s drive thru on Westminster, staring at the spot where it used to be.
Awesome that you used to go to that same Toy City location. And $100 went a long way back in 1986.
Didn’t Toy City have a store mascot? I remember a clown for some reason. I’m trying to locate a photo of the store or even the store logo. I also remember the bright orange price tags on the items that said Toy City and I also remember the striped red and white wrapping paper. My mom would wrap my birthday presents at the store before she came home. I was born in 1974 so I enjoy reminiscing about the 80s
They did have a mascot, which was a smiling clown. Thanks for sharing your Toy City memories here.
I remember Toy City on 17th Street in Santa Ana, California. It was a very large retail store. Before it was Toy City, it was a supermarket, Michael’s Market. I could be wrong, but I think it was one of the larger Toy City stores in the area. As I remember it, it was basically the same size as K-Mart… LOTS of aisles of toys to gawk at! The Toy City store on 17th Street was there from 1971 ’til 1982.
I used to visit that store often. I don’t recall what it was before a Toy City, so you are most likely correct. I think I visited the store before it closed in 1982. Thanks for sharing your Toy City memories.
That Toy City was around for a long time after 1982. That place lasted throughout most of my childhood and I was only 5 years old in 1982. In fact, I remember that location had an entire aisle dedicated to Star Wars merchandise after the release of Return of the Jedi. I grew up with that one and the nearby store on Tustin Avenue and Collins in the city of Orange. That Toy City later became Big Y yardage, which I believe recently closed, and the Toy City on 17th later became Homet Buffet, which I dont think made it past the pandemic.
Thanks for sharing more details about the Toy City locations you visited.
I had a Toy City in my neighborhood when I was a kid. It was on Beach bl and Lahabra, bl. I remember every isle and what they held. Also, up front the Corgi toys metal trucks, ships and even a batmobil. I still have them all. The TCR racers to the left and models 3row from the left. I miss that place still. Out side there was a Builders emporium an H salt fish and chips, barber, doll house, thriftys and more. All gone now and a costco in their place. I’d give anything to go back. I kick the can all the time like on twilight zone, just in case!
Ahh. TCR racers. I loved the set I had. Toy City carried a lot of extra track and cars. I wish I still had mine. I’m sure I went to that Toy City location on Beach Blvd and LaHabra. I know how you feel.. I’d love to experience that again, too.
Was there a Toy City in Fountain Valley on Magnolia and Slater? I have been wracking my brain trying to recall the name of the toy store that I used to take my son to in the late 80s was part of a chain. It closed in the early 90s.
I do not recall a Toy City at that location. I know there were Kay-Bee Toy Stores in addition to Toys R Us locations in multiple locations in Orange County.
You are correct it was in Fountain Valley but it was on Magnolia and Talbert, and was located where Crunch Fitness is currently located.
There was another one on Springdale and Edinger across the street from Marina High School in Huntington Beach, right by Mario’s restaurant which is still there. I think the store footprint for the former Toy City is a 99-cent store at the moment. I went to both but I frequented the Fountain Valley one since I lived in the city. I remembered the plethora of GI Joe and M.A.S.K. I got there. God how I miss Toy City!
I grew up in Corona and went to the the Corona Toy City. Always loved it more than Toys R Us!
I was just thinking about this and googled it. Looks like there’s a few of us!
I am not sure if I ever visited the Corona Toy City location (i grew up in Garden Grove). And yes, there are a few of us that loved Toy City and our many visits there.
I grew up in Orange and the Toy City I would visit was located on Tustin Avenue. The Barbie aisle was my favorite. They would also gift wrap for free. We always went there to buy birthday gifts for friends and I remember the wrapping paper was red and white striped. It was the best toy store. I also remember the model cars and certain dolls were kept behind a glass case at the front of the store. So sad when it closed up.
Ahh. another Orange Country native (I grew up in Garden Grove). I recal going to the location on Tustin Ave in my efforts to look for various Matchboxes and Mattel Electronics games. I agree… it was the best toy store. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Toy City on 17th st in Santa Ana. My sister would love when I went to Toy City because she would go to Tower Records (later a Sam goody) in the same center. There was also the Santa Ana Army / Navy store there too. Best think I remembered about Toy City was the identifiable wrapping paper. You’d always know at a friends party if a gift was from Toy City.
Love the mention of Tower Records. And yes, the wrapping was a gift that was bought at Toy City. Thanks for sharing your memories.
I remember the Toy City on Valley View in Garden Grove. It was amazing!
I grew up in Garden Grove but on the east part near Orange. I did visit the Valley View location when I was looking for specific Matchbox and Mattel Electronics.
Does anybody know how Toy City went under or ceased to exist? Did they go bankrupt? Bought out?
Wow… My brother and I were talking about Toy City this morning, and he found this article.
We used to ride our bikes to the exact same Toy City you did. In a long strip mall with all Ole’s Hardware and a Veterans thrift store, right? (There was also a bar called Gaynor’s Lounge, but being a kid, I was kind of afraid of that!) I remember seeing Mattel electronics games, but since they were $30, that was too rich for us. We would buy Slime, pea shooters, Chinese yo-yos, candy, and other stuff we found in that weekly ad. You could also get cheap batting helmets with MLB logos for about $2.99.
If you ever find any photos of that store (especially inside shots) please post them! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!