Hamleys and North River (Iowa): Difference between pages

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Revision as of 19:55, 20 June 2007

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[[Image:hamleysregentstreet.jpg|thumb|250px|The Christmas lights outside the Hamleys toy store in Regent Street.]]

[[Image:North River Warren County Iowa.jpg|thumb|300px|The North River as viewed from the [[Great Western Trail (Iowa)|Great Western Trail]] in northwestern [[Warren County, Iowa|Warren County]]]]

[[Image:Hamleys London.jpg|thumb|250px|Hamleys in 2004.]]

[[Image:North River Iowa.jpg|300px|thumb|The North River as viewed from a rural road in northwestern Warren County]]

'''Hamleys''' is one of the world's largest [[toy]] shops. It is currently located at 188&ndash;196 [[Regent Street]] in [[London]].

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The '''North River''' is a [[tributary]] of the [[Des Moines River]] in south-central [[Iowa]] in the [[United States]]. It is approximately 70 miles (115 km) long<ref name=Columbia>[http://reference.allrefer.com/gazetteer/N/N04751-north-river.html Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry for North River]</ref> and drains an area of 349.2 mi² (904.4 km²).<ref>[http://wqm.igsb.uiowa.edu/activities/stream/monthly%20sites/northriv.htm Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Watershed Monitoring and Assessment: North River]</ref> Via the Des Moines River, it is part of the [[drainage basin|watershed]] of the [[Mississippi River]].

The North River rises northeast of [[Casey, Iowa|Casey]] in southern [[Guthrie County, Iowa|Guthrie County]] and flows generally eastwardly through [[Adair County, Iowa|Adair]], [[Madison County, Iowa|Madison]] and [[Warren County, Iowa|Warren]] Counties, past [[Carlisle, Iowa|Carlisle]], into southeastern [[Polk County, Iowa|Polk County]],<ref>[[DeLorme]] (1998). ''Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-214-5.</ref> where it joins the Des Moines River 10 mi (16 km) southeast of [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]].<ref name=Columbia/>

==History==

In Madison County, it collects a short tributary known as the '''North Branch North River'''.<ref>{{Gnis|459561|North Branch North River}}</ref>

Hamleys is named after [[William Hamley]], who founded a toy shop called "[[Noah's Ark]]" at [[High Holborn]] in London in 1760. A branch in Regent Street was opened in 1881, and the Holburn branch was destroyed by fire in 1901 and was relocated from 231 to 86&ndash;87 High Holborn. The business has survived in various forms to the present day, and at one time was the largest toy shop in the world. Hamleys moved to its current Regent Street premises in 1981.

==See also==

The store is considered one of London's major tourist attractions, and receives about five million visitors a year.

*[[List of Iowa rivers]]

==References==

In 1987 a second store was opened in [[York]], however this was closed less than 12 months later for reasons that remain unclear.<ref>Yorkshire Evening Press, 2005-10-18. "[http://archive.yorkpress.co.uk/2005/10/18/334483.html Hamleys returning to York after 17 years]"</ref>.

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*{{Gnis|459621|North River}}

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[[Category:ShopsRivers inof LondonIowa]]

Hamleys is also a holding company for several other toy companies in the United Kingdom. Most notably, Hamleys purchased [[The English Teddy Bear Company]] in 2004. The English Teddy Bear Company, originally established by [[Dominic Richards]], quickly failed to prove a success for Hamleys and all eight stores were closed down within two years at a cost of millions to the toy empire.

[[Category:Adair County, Iowa]]

[[Category:Guthrie County, Iowa]]

[[Category:Madison County, Iowa]]

[[Category:Polk County, Iowa]]

[[Category:Warren County, Iowa]]

==Description==

Hamleys has seven floors, all devoted to playthings, with different categories of toy on each floor.

The ground floor is traditionally for soft toys, and decked out with a remarkably diverse array of [[stuffed animal]]s, from regular teddy bears to more exotic plushes such as [[turtle]]s or [[dolphin]]s, even to enormous life-sized [[giraffe]]s or [[elephant]]s. There is also an outlet store version of Hamleys at Great Western retail village in Swindon Wiltshire offering a limited range of products.

==Floor guide==

* '''5th floor: Boys''' &mdash; Action figures, vehicles, and an open cafe.

* '''4th floor: Hobbies''' &mdash; Model kits, remote-controlled vehicles, model railways, [[Scalextric]], etc.

* '''3rd floor: Girls''' &mdash; Dolls, Arts & Crafts, [[Hello Kitty]], Dress up etc.

* '''2nd floor: Preschool''' &mdash; Toys for young children.

* '''1st floor: Games''' &mdash; Board games, science, jigsaws; also a [[Build-A-Bear Workshop]] and Sweet Shop.

* '''Ground floor: Soft toys''' &mdash; a wide variety of stuffed animals, and also a [[Marvin's Magic]] section.

* '''Basement: Interactive''' &mdash; [[Lego]], trading cards, gadgets, novelties and [[GAME (retailer)]].

==External links==

* [http://www.hamleys.co.uk Hamleys web site]

* [http://www.regentstreetonline.com/RegentStreet/ShoppingChannel/Hamleys.htm Regent St. Shopping] - external website

[[Category:Shops in London]]

[[Category:Retailers of the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Westminster]]

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