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Itinerary: Toys

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Not long after primitive man invented his first tool, his kids probably invented toys. Balls and pull toys were common in ancient Africa, and hoops, tops and boats were objects of fun in ancient Rome and Greece.

Only in the last century or so have toys become mass-produced items. In the U.S. alone, toys are a $15-billion-per-year industry, not including video games.

Some parents may feel under siege from an industry that prods kids into wanting the latest-newest-coolest toy. But despite all the high-tech whiz-bang creations introduced each year, the consistently top-selling toys in the U.S., by unit sales, are Hot Wheels cars and Crayola Crayons.

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Thursday

The indomitable spirit of children, who create playthings under even the most trying circumstances, is evident in the exhibit “Not Sold in Stores” at the Museum of Tolerance (9786 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. [310] 553-8403. Open Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

The show is the outgrowth of an encounter between John Schultz, the president of the Christian Children’s Fund, and a boy in Kenya. Schultz was so impressed and moved by the boy’s toy sailboat--made of an old flip-flop sandal, a bamboo stick and plastic bags--that he asked other workers for the fund around the world to collect toys made by local children.

The 250 toys on display come from Asia, Africa and Latin America and range from dolls to rattles to the ubiquitous soccer ball. The exhibit ends April 30.

Friday

The Toy District in downtown Los Angeles is to Toys R Us what the Fashion District is to Macy’s. Dozens of small shops--each about 400 square feet--fill the blocks between San Pedro and Los Angeles streets, mostly from Boyd to Winston streets. Hours generally run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, but some stores are exclusively wholesalers. Note that the area is adjacent to Skid Row, so nearby streets are densely populated with the city’s homeless.

Each shop has a specialty, so one store might be filled with inflatable pool toys while another has mostly toy guns. Among the shops: Fancy Zoo (340 S. San Pedro St. [213] 680-0034) and, kittycorner, David’s Toys (346 S. 4th St., [213] 680-8928); both carry plush animals. A-Mart Toys (305 E. 4th St., [213] 628-1389) handles baby toys and strollers. And Bensia (339 Wall St.) carries the pens, pencils and stickers that little girls love.

Saturday

The variety of toys available can be staggering, as a trip to Hollywood Toys & Costumes (6600 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, [323] 464-4444) can confirm. This shop--where you can find everything from a checkerboard to a full-size R2-D2--covers 25,000 square feet.

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The granddaddy of all American toy stores has to be FAO Schwarz, founded in Baltimore in 1862 by Frederick August Otto Schwarz, who had immigrated from Germany six years earlier. The chain now has stores in 41 cities. The chain is planning a free-standing store in the Los Angeles area, but for now there’s the 7,000-square-foot outlet in the Glendale Galleria (near Macy’s, parking closest to Galleria Way, [818] 547-5900) and a shop at South Coast Plaza (3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. [714] 751-6000).

Sunday

The Legoland theme park (1 Lego Drive, off Interstate 5 at Cannon Road, Carlsbad. Open Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; weekends, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. [760] 918-5346) is one of three in the world dedicated to the little building blocks. It includes rides, miniature Lego cities and a Lego factory tour showing how they are made.

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