American Girl Place in Manhattan, New York – Adorable Tiny Dolls

I was talking with a friend the other day who was trying to find a specific doll for her granddaughter’s upcoming birthday. It immediately reminded me of the miniature dolls I saw at the American Girl Place store while in Manhattan in October of 2015. Gene, a local friend, and I checked out their amazing store when we were in Manhattan last year. We had been to the Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Plaza earlier that day and saw this place while we were walking around. Not sure why I actually walked into the store, except maybe that my niece just had a baby and she looks like a tiny little doll.  Then again, I am probably biased, lol. Some of it may have been pure curiosity as I had never seen one in person. Whatever the reason, probably multiple reasons,  I loved seeing these little 18 inch dolls and decided to share our experience looking around the store.

First a little history about the dolls. These tiny dolls were released in 1986 by Pleasant Company and portray eight- to eleven-year-old girls of a variety of ethnicities. This product line aims to teach aspects of American history through a six-book series from the perspective of a girl living in that time period. Apparently the books are written for girls who are at least eight years old, they endeavor to cover significant topics such as child labor, child abuse, poverty, racism, slavery, animal abuse, and war in manners appropriate for the understanding and sensibilities of their young audience.

Each doll has a different combination of face mold, skin tone, eye color, hair color, length, texture, and/or style. American Girl states that this variety allows customers to choose dolls that “represent the individuality and diversity of today’s American girls. A wide variety of contemporary clothing, accessories, and furniture is also available, and there are regular releases and retirements to update this line.

The store is so adorable. They have a doll hair salon where you can watch their expert stylist give dolls a new look. Besides hairdos, they have ear piercing, pampering services, and more. So cute, however more impressive than that, is the American Girl Café.  It is a fun and fancy restaurant where memories are always on the menu! Enjoy gourmet dining (and plenty of giggles) together. They also have set up for birthday parties and celebrations, dolls included of course! I can only imagine how much fun these little girls have with their dolls playing in the salon or having lunch in the cafe.

I had a great time wandering around the store for a while and looking at all the cute doll items. It is amazing how many items they have on display. It was quite overwhelming. Almost like a Build-A-Bear shop, lol.  My husband wasn’t quite as impressed, but he humored my friend and me as we walked around and checked it out.  We didn’t have any kids with us, and I didn’t have any little nieces at the time, so we just looked, but I would definitely add this to your to-do list while running around mid-town. It is worth visiting, especially if you have a little girl with her doll along for the visit. You can also shop online. Here is a link to their website with more information. Happy shopping!

American Girl Place Information:

Address:

75 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10019

Phone:

877-247-5223

Hours:

Store Hours:

Hours are subject to change

• Monday – 11:00am – 6:00pm
• Tuesday – 11:00am – 6:00pm
• Wednesday – 11:00am – 6:00pm
• Thursday – 11:00am – 6:00pm
• Friday – 11:00am – 6:00pm
• Saturday – 11:00am – 6:00pm
• Sunday – 11:00am – 6:00pm

Special Store Hours

• February 19 – 11:00am – 7:00pm
• February 26 – 11:00am – 7:0opm