Celebration 100th anniversary of first Automat in NYC,
Lunch Hour NYC, NYPL
The Automat was one of the
wonders of New York. When Joe Horn and Frank Hardart opened
their magnificent flagship on July 2, 1912-a two-story facade of
stained glass, marble floors, and ornate carved ceilings, right
in the middle of Times Square-the city was instantly captivated.
Hungry? Drop a nickel in a slot, open the door to your chosen
compartment, and pull your dish right out-a modern miracle!
Sandwiches, hot dishes, and desserts were all freshly made, and
the coffee was said to be the best in New York. By the 1940s
there were Automat restaurants all over the city. Children and
tourists adored them, office workers depended on them, retirees
gathered in them, and New Yorkers with nothing to spend on lunch
stirred free ketchup into hot water and called it soup.
Read
more at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Gottesman Exhibition
Hall. June 22, 2012 through February 17, 2013
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/the-automat-may-be-long-gone-but-its-recipes-are-in-demand/
https://www.nytsyn.com/images/photos/762264.html
automat, n. | Gr. automatos, self-acting |
1. an apparatus for serving foods mechanically when a coin is dropped in a slot. 2. a restaurant having such apparatus in place
The pictures (above) is showing the original Horn & Hardart Automat in NYC.
A limited number of genuine Automat machines are salvaged and available for sale from the Automat Collection of Steve Stollman.
Said the Technocrat, to the Plutocrat To the Autocrat, and the Democrat --- "Let's all go eat at the Automat!"
To learn more about Automat please visit:
Revisiting the Era of Automatic Dining cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/revisiting-the-era-of-automatic-dining
Fresh form the press cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/stories-from-the-automat-machines-in-a-harlem-basement
Read the full story at nytimes.com/nyregion/new-yorkers-co-in-little-boxes-the-automat-lives-on.html
Meet Me at the Automat smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/object_aug01.html
Remember the Automat theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/06/remember-automat
Vanishing New York vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2008/04/steve-stollmans-place.html