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All the United States New York State New York City Manhattan Macy's Wooden Escalators
AO Edited

Macy's Wooden Escalators

A bit of retro transportation flair preserved in the world's largest department store.

New York, New York

Added By
Molly McBride Jacobson
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The wooden escalators at Macy’s are almost 100 years old.   Mack Male/CC BY-SA 2.0
The wooden escalators at Macy’s are almost 100 years old.   Mack Male/CC BY-SA 2.0
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  idontcare / Atlas Obscura User
  paigeelizabeth3660 / Atlas Obscura User
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Escalator from 2nd floor   barefootjon / Atlas Obscura User
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store map showing escalator sets   dawnls / Atlas Obscura User
Wooden escalators at Macy’s department store.   PlusMinus/CC BY-SA 3.0
Riding down from the 9th to the 8th floor.   J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
A wooden escalator at Macy’s.   Eric/CC BY 2.0
Macy’s Herald Square in 2007.   Ian Gratton/CC BY 2.0
Macy’s Herald Square in 1907.   Library of Congress/LC-USZ62-123584
Up and down   IronQueen / Atlas Obscura User
Wooden for the win - go down these to find the Big piano   IronQueen / Atlas Obscura User
Fun! Very special everyone comments on these   IronQueen / Atlas Obscura User
Really cool   mandycampbell500 / Atlas Obscura User
A wooden escalator at Macy’s.   victorgrigas/CC BY-SA 3.0
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About

Macy's Herald Square is famous for a lot of things, most of them holiday-related: Its animatronic window displays during the Christmas season, its starring role in the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street, and its namesake Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy's, of course, also helped popularize the department store concept, but perhaps the best-preserved piece of its history lies right underneath shoppers' feet.

When the flagship store underwent massive renovations in 2015, it swapped out many of its old-school features for more modern accouterments. But 20 of its much-loved wooden escalators stayed put.

The escalators were built between 1920 and 1930 by the Otis Elevator Company, which pioneered the machinery. They're made of sturdy oak and ash, wood that's traditionally used in hardwood flooring. The mechanical parts have, for the most part, been updated, and modern safety measures have been put in place. 

They might be updated and maintained regularly as per modern standards, but the nearly century-old escalators aren't going anywhere, despite how much they might creak.

Update as of October 2016: Only the escalator treads on the top two floors remain wooden.

Update as of January 2020: The escalator treads from the fifth through ninth floors remain wooden.

Update as of July 2021: The escalator treads in the escalators near the elevators and women's restroom are wooden from the second through ninth floors. The other escalator is modern at least on the lower floors.

Related Tags

Transportation Machines Retro Tech Shops Technology

Community Contributors

Added By

Molly McBride Jacobson

Edited By

NYJen, Blindcolour, dlc31723, barefootjon...

  • NYJen
  • Blindcolour
  • dlc31723
  • barefootjon
  • SEANETTA
  • J Ginsberg
  • mandycampbell500
  • paigeelizabeth3660
  • Monte
  • cait7911
  • idontcare
  • hibbibi
  • MattJCasey
  • tjenk
  • IronQueen
  • dawnls

Published

October 18, 2016

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy%27s_Herald_Square
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/nyregion/macys-historic-wooden-escalators-survive-renovation.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&_r=0
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Elevator_Company
Macy's Wooden Escalators
151 W 34th St
New York, New York
United States
40.750792, -73.989526
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