My grandfather was a NYC police officer from 1946 to 1976. He said some of his favorite police memories of him and his partners were over coffee and pie at a Automat downtown. He always said you could walk in with a little change and walk out with a full belly. Coldest winters he said he can still taste the coffee and remember the smell when he walked in. And that was in 2002.
The Automat was in sad decline when I was a boy in the early 1970s. Lunch at H&H was part-and-parcel of any day trip with Nanna down to Philadelphia. To a kid from the Lehigh Valley, there was something almost magical about taking that handful of nickels, carefully counting out the right number of coins, placing them in the slot and turning the knob to reveal fresh chicken pot pie, delicious salisbury steak, the best macaroni & cheese and that simple chocolate pudding pie that for some reason I always associate with Thanksgiving.
Recently I've been binge-watching videos on Japanese vending machines when it suddenly dawned on me exactly why I was so fascinated with them; THE AUTOMAT!!! I've only been to one a couple of times when I was a little kid in the early 1960's, but the concept of selecting food from little glass cabinets just blew my mind! I think most sandwiches were a quarter and slices of pies or cake were 10 or fifteen cents! This also reminded me of cigarette vending machines that dispensed packs of cigarettes with change in pennies wrapped in the cellophane!
What incredible memories! I never had the opportunity to live through that exciting time but I feel like the show Mad Men is the closest I’m going to get.
Yes, Japan has a lot of food type vending machines similar to our old Automat. I have 2 friends who live in Japan. One is in the Navy and has been there quite a while.
I worked at H & H in 1960. I was 14 yrs old at the time. I started with busing dishes after the customers finished eating and cleaned the tables. My first raise was to 90 cents an hour. But I could eat all day. The food was made on premise. Their mash potatoes and corned beef, roast beef all made on premises with their big ovens. The company was very to their workers. You can eat every time you got a break. I haven't had a meal that delicious since they closed. Imagine any resturant making all foods, baking roasting right in the same place. Food was just soooooooooooo good. I wish they wre still around. If you didn't have the opportunity to live in Manhattan you missed out on meals that were just so delicious.
I know what you mean! Lived in the Big Apple as a teenager and H & H was one of the main attractions for me and my family. That was in the late forties and early fifties. Went back for a visit in the late sixties and ate a meal at one of the remaining restaurants. Later in the day walked past it and IT WAS ON FIRE (can you believe that)! It was so sad to see that.
Automats have always fascinated me. I can't understand why they aren't still around. I'm 48 and I remember even loving the vending machines that have the little windows that open. The food in those was always a little suspect but I love the idea.
@@bobina05 They still exist in many older large places, such as big hospitals. The cafeteria closes at 6pm, but two walls full of automats have fresh food 24x7, so the visitors and night time staff always have good tasting healthy meals.
I was a sixteen year old kid, living in Brooklyn, NY when I got my job at Horn and Hardart's West 14th Street location. The year was 1962. I worked as a busboy. My plan was to work the entire Summer, in order to save up money for clothes, and to have money to spend in High School that coming Fall. I never received my first pay check, because I quit! The work was tedious, and it seemed like I was eating every fifteen minutes. I recall telling my Mother that I would never go back to that "Factory." She was very supportive of me. Besides, I quickly got another job, working outdoors. I showed my wife this old film, and she was thrilled; but not half as thrilled as I was when I quit. The food was great, but a kid locked up in an Automat during Summer in Brooklyn, was "Boring." Thanks for the upload!
I the 1950's, my mom and I would go downtown in Philadelphia to grab lunch at Horn and Hardart. The food was tasty and fresh. . Good memories, 65 years ago.
The first time that I learned about these machines was from a Looney Tunes cartoon. Bugs Bunny bought a slice of pie and smushed it in a Mobsters face.
The one at or near 34th.and 8th.avenue practically kept me alive in 1969-70.I had a room at Sloane House and couldn't cook there. Hot meals at H&H,you couldn't beat it. !!
Very classy for its time.. I am happy to say I found out my mom, the late M. Roché worked at H & H In the 1960s as my Aunt Irma had described. She would place the fresh food in the cubbies. The location was in New York City 42nd St. I’m honored to say I’m glad my mother was part of that Legacy.
I remember that our local (very, very small) hospital's cafeteria had a similar setup for after-hours food purchases. Frequently, one of my grandparents would be admitted to hospital. As a young child (think late 1970s-early 1980s), I fondly remember being sent to the cafeteria by my Mom, handful of change in hand, to get an egg salad sandwich from the vending machine, as well as a can of pop or a lemonade from the food line. Best. Thing. Ever.
THEY HAD GOLD FIXTURES, COFFEE HOT CHOCOLATE ETC. POURED OUT OF LIONS MOUTHS. AS A. CHILD I LOVED IT, STILL DO LOVE THE MEMORIES. THEY WERE PRECIOUS TIMES. GREAT TO BE A CHILD THEN.
Thanks very much for this video. I didn't grow up in Philly, my family and I lived in Brooklyn, but we went often to the Horn and Hardart Automats in Manhattan. Brings back a lot of pleasant memories. As other people have commented, the experience was "magical."
Love this video! Thanks for uploading! Automats have always fascinated me. Loved to watch vintage movies & TV shows wish scenes set in the wonderful automats of the past.
What gets me is they were so ELEGANT. You don't see that elegance in design anymore anywhere, much less in a working class eatery. Nobody's going to have a print of a Starbucks dining room on their wall in fifty years.
"Nobody's going to have a print of a Starbucks dining room on their wall in fifty years." You say that now, but they probably thought the same of Horn and Hardart at the time. Nostalgia will always be a popular with the nostalgic.
the automat is futuristic from the period where futurism began...…………….…...the mid to late 1800's…………….……………….Singapore has created a fully automated version called Chef in Box…………….…..here's a link…………….…...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eBuLzMEXfDk.html
My grand mother worked at Horn And Hardart she worked at the 8th Avenue Location in NYC I Remember as a Kid she had her Uniform on she looked so professional And Cute!
I loved going to Horn and Hardart when I visited my New York relatives, years ago. My Dad was born and raised in NY and always loved talking about pouring hot chocolate from the lion's mouth. Such great memories. Thanks for making the video!
I am 81 years old and living in Mason Ohio in a nursing home I worked here when I was 17 years old as a bus girl. Then I worked at the steam tables. It was a fun job for me and it never felt like a job, like work. I'm wondering if the automatic is still up and running after all these years down in Manhattan. Anyone have your ears on? Jesus is love to all of you out there, Medlin Humphreys
I'm 54 and I just learned about the automat around an hour ago, never heard of these before. Amazing. Born and raised and still live in Milwaukee so maybe that accounts for it. It seems the automat was a NYC and east coast thing. As far as I can remember there were no such restaurants around here when I was growing up in the 1970s.
Wow this place would have been really cool to see. I was have only been 8 when is closed down. We had a cafeteria type eatery at our Malls food court in the 80's. It was awesome. They had pizza which still rings inmy head as the best pizza I have ever had. THey also had pasta and pies and all kinds of pop. Great memories as a kid.
Loved the era of the big band sound. Earth Wind & Fire, Tower Of Power and other black bands brought it back in the 70's and nobody ever gave them the credit they deserved.
If you watched video, it was tried. Seems like it's a concept that doesn't work anymore. I would if a cafeteria is more efficient. Why place the meals in boxes when you can just put it out on a cafeteria line? Too bad corporate cafeterias have generally been a bit weak. But I remember IBMs was pretty good. Not long ago I was often going to a walk up window for lunch, which was part of a cafeteria in a building that was not open to the public ( the walkup window was actually to the outside of the building.) Don't know how they did financially, but excellent food at an amazing price. So cafeterias can work quite well IMO
It is still around in the form of those cafeteria spinners. The ones where you press a button and the different choices rotate. They probably have vending machine cafe's in Japan.
@@michaelbauers8800 yeah but cafeteria restaurants are risky to people because the food sits out in open air under heat lamps. I feel like automats would work better because they would be in their own mini refrigerator or warmer without the threat of them being in open air.
I remember the cafeteria at the tiny McPherson Hospital in Howell, MI. They had a setup that was *very* similar to this setting. I used to love their egg salad sandwiches and Jell-O desserts. I would ask my mom for money to go to the cafeteria and get each of these for a meal, whenever my grandfather and/or grandmother was in the hospital (all too frequently, back in the late 1970's-early 1980's)...
When I was a kid my father and I ate from the one at the Smithsonian in DC and he was telling me about the one he ate from as a kid in Philadelphia, well it was the same one we found out shortly after. Great memories !
My mom and stepfather showed me a documentary on Nefflix about this place. I heard it was big in the 50’s and 60’s . Looks loot a great place to gather.
My first introduction to automats was actually in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. At the time I didn't understand the concept, why is there food in the wall? Who the hell serves food that way? I've seen soda and cigarette machines, but they didn't take up a whole wall. I asked my father about it, he said Oh, that's an automat. We used to have them when I was a kid. You drop money in a coin slot, open the little door and get the item of food out. They had a pretty good selection and you could get something decent to eat for pretty cheap. Cool, I wish they still had automats around. I later learned that Japan has them and Amsterdam.
Great food Beans, Creamed Spinich, Egg Custard, Sticky Raisin Sweet Rolls, BBQ Chicken Rotisserie, Rice Pudding Tapioca Pudding. Blue & White pkgng with motto on ea pkg. Days gone forever !
@@SeaJay_Oceans Friendly customer service, would be great. Unfortunately, what we usually get at many places is some sloppy, rude, apathetic person who hardly makes eye contact while carrying on personal conversations with other employees, enters your order wrong, and is in no hurry to get you anything. When the unemployment rate is as low as it is these days, employers are scraping the bottom of the barrel just to get a body to fill a position - and it shows. Kiosks don't give me attitude. Kiosks show me exactly what I've ordered before I fork over my debit cart.
@@arxfortis7481 Exactly, I don't need "customer service" nearly as much as seeing the quality of the product before immediately acquiring it if I so desire. Not guilt tripped to tip either.
My Dad took us to one in New York in the 1960's when my brother and i were kids. I don't remember which one but it was cool. I would not be surprised if something similar starts up again since many food places are having trouble retaining workers.
I remember the H&H retail shops on 34th Street and the one in the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Stocked up on lot's of goodies to take back to NJ. Never realized what we had til it's gone.
I loved the heavy glass doors and the elaborate coffee machine. And the food was decent - esp. their chicken pot pie. YUM! You could also hang out for a long time and no one bothered you.
What a neat piece of history. I'd enjoy trying one just for the experience. Though I imagine a sandwich and a cup of coffee would be about the extent of it.
The last one that closed in 1991 on 42nd Street (Manhattan) was the one I remember going to. (Must have gone to others as a child). One advantage never mentioned was you could visually inspect the sandwich, dessert or whatever before putting in your quarter to open the little door. Also there were never any lines. You'd never stand behind anyone because when they left the window would be empty! In the photos here I see the food items are wrapped in cellophane but I'm sure that was never done then. If they brought one back and it was well run I'd go out of my way to patronize it.
CBS News had a piece on automated food service this morning like it was something new the Japanese just invented! I remember going there in NY. I was fascinated.
This is amazing history..im reading "Lilac Girls" about the Rabbits of Ravensbruck (holocaust) and they mention this during a trip to America the polish women were able to take because of generous Americans who donated in full force over a decade after the end of the war to bring the women here for medical care... as a woman in my 30s i love reading these type of historical novels. They remind me of how things once were, so I am reminded to feel greatful and lucky to live in this time in America. But then there is that extra part. The part where I look up and event, person, place ect that takes up 2 sentences of a book, and im exposed and then privy to a part of our history i never would have known about. Man I love it! (Obviously I wish these horrible things never occurred..i hope thats obvious when I say how much I enjoy these books)
Ah! So *there* is where the idea behind the McPherson Hospital cafeteria "after hours" vending machines' very tasty Egg Salad Sandwiches that I remember (it was 1980 in rural Michigan, and I was 9 years old; Don't judge!) came from... Far better than offerings in todays' Sodexho/Marriott/et. al. hospital cafeteria offerings, IMO...!
My favorites were the spaghetti and the fishcakes. The coffee came out of a serpent's mouth. Oh, and the food was hot. The coffee came out of a serpent's mouth.
This is similar to Japan's style of vending machine diners. They have a vending machine for everything there, automatic juice making ones, hot soups and meals and even non food items are sold by machines. I believe they have basically 1 machine per 25 people in that country!
The Japanese and Singaporeans have cornered the market on these types of vending machines. The stunning amount of delicious food you can get out of their machines is mind boggling. Somehow we in the states just haven’t caught on to the sensation for some reason
I'm making Baked beans now from the Automate recipe Been making them for years I freeze in portions 4 get canned ones I loved these as a tiny child so exciting to go there And baked beans was what I got Also the Mac and cheese I have that recipe too Dosnt freeze as well though
the concept of an automat always struck me as sort of strange -- seems creepily anonymous. i dont agree how about wonderfully anonymous . not every one likes to deal with people all day long ,especially if you have a job where you have to deal with people all day . what a wonderful concept . thats why i love vending machines.
It wasn't entirely anonymous. There were bussers and I believe someone who would make change for you, but I like the idea of perusing the big selection, grabbing something quick that is tasty and made in house, with a lot of variations!
It is too bad that the automat could not be revived. Credit is deserved for the people who attempted to revive the format. It it were to survive today, the coin slots would be accompanied by card readers and NFC readers, which would probably attribute to the majority of transactions. The automat has been replaced by fast food stands. The fast food stands do give you something I never remembered getting from the automat, indigestion.
Alan, Wikipedia says the first Automat opened in PHILADELPHIA in 1902 and that the first NYC one opened in Times Square in 1912. You should check that and, if necessary, correct your video. Otherwise, nice work!
With things like salad bars and other self service types of food probably gone forever due to the coronavirus, I think automats could be embraced is a great safely distanced way of replicating the cafeteria experience.
Who Own's the Rights ? I would love to own a Horn and Hardart AUTOMAT Franchise. Dress it up a bit in 1950s Chrome diner style - Fresh food fast. Better than a burnt burger in a soggy bun! If it's not available, I could open a Horn & Heart 50's Diner, with a wall of automats on one side and hot counter, made to order on the other wall, the whole place designed like a letter H , open visible kitchen in the back, Cafe' dining room in the front. The key is to run it all 1st Class, nice 50s era uniforms, a well paid staff... not a cheap place, but mid priced. Perfect for high traffic zones. Put one between the office complex and university - quality food made to order, or grab and go, faster than fast food !
I would have been cool to see how the kitchen operated. I saw some other comments of people saying they made everything. All the potatos, and roasts and all.
I've heard they're making a comeback now in this digital age. But it probably won't be the same for the older generation as it relies on utilizing your !phone. I still hope they succeed though.
Remember the days of heat lamp beef burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches? That was part of the reason. Quick service restaurants and drive through options. Those drive in dining places where the car hop brought food to your car, Sonic style.
