MOSCOW, July 1, 2008 (AFP) - Developers on Tuesday closed Russia's most famous toy store, the landmark Detsky Mir building in central Moscow, marking the end of a long-running battle with preservationists.

The Art Deco flagship store, which covers an entire bloc of the city centre near the Kremlin, 'was today closed for renovations,' said a spokesman for retail chain Detsky Mir, or Children's World.

Local architects have campaigned against the plan to tear out the 1957 building's ornate central atrium and remove its signature carousel as part of a bid to boost floor space by one-third.

Only 40 percent of the new store will be dedicated to children's goods, developers said.

'I came to Detsky Mir today with a pain inside,' said Muscovite Marina Kryukova, who took her young daughter around the toy store on Monday to mourn its passing.

The final work of celebrated Moscow architect Alexei Dushkin, the building is regarded as marking a turning point between the grandiose construction of the Stalin era and the 1960s minimalist revolt that followed.

The building's exterior with its vast arched windows is protected as an architectural landmark and will be retained, but the interior will be entirely reconstructed.

'In terms of the organization of the interior, it will be a different store,' said Sergei Shmakov, first vice president of developer Sistema Gals, in comments made to Vesti television.

A wave of construction has transformed the centre of Moscow in recent years, sparking a campaign calling for stricter protections for historic buildings.