Riding the last Wooden Escalator in New York
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- Опубліковано 18 чер 2022
- In the shadow of the majestic Empire State Building and located on the ninth floor of the Iconic Macy's department store in Manhatten (think "Miracle on 34th St.") you can still ride one of the world's last functioning wooden escalators. Built during the Art Deco era, this people moving conveyance has a distinctive Steampunk/Dieselpunk feel along with a unique clacking sound unlike any aother escalator you will every use. Only two exist and one is under repair so this century old mechanical fossil may finally coming to end of its existence!
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I've ridden it many times in my 47 years in New York. I remember when "kitten heels" were popular and women had to keep their weight slightly on the balls of their feet so as not to get the narrow heels stuck between the slats. Now it's just so cool to think that I can still ride the very same escalator my grandmother rode as a young woman in the 1920s!
The idea that we can share an experience such as this with someone generations ago is why this kind of video is so popular. I have another video that shows riding a paternoster elevator and I was overwhelmed with the response!
@@travelswithtom9921 And now I had to go look that up, because I've never heard of a paternoster elevator. Yikes! Interesting to know that the name doesn't come from an impulse to say a prayer as you step on or off. ;-)
I remember as a kid during Christmastime going to Herald Square to do the TRIPLE- shopping at Macy’s, Gimble’s and Korvette’s!
I remember those escalators too!👍🏽👍🏽
That’s going back a ways!!!!
Gimble's...that brings back memories!
I rode on the wooden escalator in Macy's many times in the early 1980s when I'd catch the train into NYC from Kingston, RI. When the pandemic is over, I'd love to go up there one more time.
I actually took the train from Boston for the day to get a ride on this so I passed right by Kingston!
I've ridden on that escalator many times in the past! I've lived in NYC since 1970. In 1970, I worked p/t, Christmas Season, at Gimbles which was across the street.
Gimbels had one too, right?
So cool! It sounds like a wooden rollercoaster! Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for the kind word... I actually edited the sound in the video so as the capture the clacking of the wood...
@@travelswithtom9921 That lovely clacking is another part of a soundscape that has been lost with "progress" on so many fronts.
Just close your eyes while you're riding it, and you're experiencing the same exact thing someone did almost a century ago.
Agreed...I love the idea that it's possible to experience something that others did generations ago
Wonderful! Reminds me of many wooden escalator rides of my childhood.
Thank you!
So beautiful! Thanks for taking the time for this outing
Thank you!
Brought back some wonderful memories of our first visit to the City in 1981 when I met with several newspaper syndicates to discuss a contract for a comics feature I was pitching. Of course we visited Macy's and rode this escalator. Thank you for sharing this living history!
Thank you for the kind word. Were you successful in your pitch?
@@travelswithtom9921 Nope. Close.
That’s so great you recorded it.
The original marvel, in wood. The stairs that go up and down and you ride them from floor to floor!
Only one floor now but still worth it if you're in the area...I love the unique clacking sound it makes
I've seen photos from the Des Moine Register showing crowds of people showing up to ride the newly installed "electric stairs" at Younker's department store in 1939. Those were the first escalators in Iowa. The stairs appear to have been metal, though.
I'm 66 now, and rode on that very same escalaor since I was 5, when I would shop there with my grandmother. That vibration sound has not changed in 60 years. Thanks for the memories.
My pleasure!
I remember riding these in Macy's when I was in NY back in 1989. It was amazing then - thanks for the video and the memories of a great trip!
My pleasure!
Thanks for documenting this! Amazing that it has held up so well.
Thank you!
Loved it, brought back great memories from my youth
It’s still there and I heard that Macy’s is making it a priority to keep it preserved
There is another one in a now sealed off underground passageway between 1290 6th Ave and the food court beneath 30 Rock. I used to take it to get to lunch regularly in the winter -- the passageway was closed off after 9/11.
That is very interesting to know... It's probably still there
It is so sad there is only one left working. I always loved riding on them back in the 80's and 90's.
I hear there’s a functional one in Antwerp, Belgium…. Next time I head to Germany, I’m gonna take a side trip to see if I can track it down…. thank you for watching and , if you like the content, I sure would love another subscriber!
Thanks! Don't think I've ever seen a wooden escalator! Cool!
My pleasure...check out my other video where I ride a real functioning paternoster elevator ua-cam.com/video/dv1W8Q1t3aU/v-deo.html
The clacking sound is like one of those old roller coasters
Yes...when I was there I realized that not only does it have a unique look but sound as well...thank you for watching!
I remember riding several of these when a child. I remember a few left by the 1980s. One was in a local 5 &10 in Fall River, MA. I'd like to say that another was in Boston, possibly in the old Kreskes. They were very narrow, and seemed more than a little dangerous if you wore heels. The heels could be easily caught in the ridges.
I remember them on the Washington St. (now Downtown Crossing) stop on the red line T back in the 1980s
Oh man, fantastic! I'd love to get my hands on a piece of that history, but as long as its still functioning, keep on keeping on. Thanks for posting!
This video reached so many people that I actually got contacted by someone who was the partner on the refurbishment team for Macy's and they assured me that it is a top priority that they keep this section of escalator preserved
A&S department store in Brooklyn also had one . I remember riding on that as a kid. Knew back then it was special.
I know what you mean, we had them in Boston on some of the subways when I was kid...I was fascinated with them even then
Thank you. It's sort of amazing it's lasted for almost 100 years, but new washers and dryers don't last five years.
You're right about that!
Thanks! I grew up in the 1950s, in Cleveland, Ohio. I was born in 1953. Our two, major, downtown department stores Higbee's & Halle's,.....( both may be gone, in 2022).They had wooden escalators. I remember riding on them often when I was youngster. I know they were still in operation through the end of the 1970s. In Columbus, Ohio, where I eventually moved to, to attend graduate school, in 1977. Their major, downtown, department store, Lazarus, also had wooden escalators. In 1977,....most of them had been replaced with modern "steel" escalator steps, but they kept a few of the wooden ones, operating as well. They continued to be in operation in the early, to mid 2000's. Lazarus was eventually bought out by Macy's, and the wooden escalators disappeared.
I remember them on the subway line in Boston...I think they were still there through the 1990s
@@travelswithtom9921 They were so neat,....its too bad no one saved a few, for a Science & Industry museum. I recall they made a subtle "chuffing" sound. They seemed less menacing,....the modern, steel (bladed) ones, could/can grab certain shoe soles, & certain ladies, high heels. I always thought the modern ones, resembled the "bread slicers" you see in bakeries.
This video reached a lot of people very quickly and I got an email from someone who saw it who knows someone on the design team for the Macy's store and informed that Macy's has prioritized this section of wooden escalator to be preserved so I think we may see it functioning for years to come
@@travelswithtom9921 Fantastic!
Thank you and if you like the content I sure would like another subscriber!
Neat! I had no idea this existed. Thank You for visiting and posting!
Thank you for the kind word...I've been looking for these strange old devices that still exist...I have another video on this channel in which I ride a paternoster elevator which only exist in Europe and are really wild...check it out ua-cam.com/video/dv1W8Q1t3aU/v-deo.html
The oldest wooden escalator I ever rode was at Roosevelt Avenue, 61st street station in Woodside, Queens, NYC. Circa 1961 it was still there when wen to take the 7 subway train. Tha 7 line was opened in 1917 and had service by the IRT subway company trains and the 2nd Avenue El trains from Manhattan.
Mine were in the Boston Subway in the early 1980s
Those stairs are really cool. I think I might have been on them a long time ago when visiting NYC. Thanks for sharing your experience 😊
My pleasure...I love these old contraptions and the fact that they still exist and do their jobs a century after their built
I have another video of a paternoster which is an amazingly weird elevator that only existed in Europe and are almost all gone...take a look...ua-cam.com/video/dv1W8Q1t3aU/v-deo.html
Cool, I remember the one Cleveland had in downtown Higbee's. It was in the same store they shot the Santa slide scene in "A Christmas Story".
The Macy’s in Pittsburgh also had one, but I think this is the last operational one left anywhere…. Thank you for watching and, if you like this content, I sure would love another subscriber.!
It's nice wooden escalator!
Thank you for watching!
Memories from my childhood
I first rode it in 1972 on a school trip. I made sure my son rode it in 2005.
Imagine the celebrities ands society folks who have ridden it.
Yes and now it's a century old so five generations have been on it...imagine all the changes in that that time...thank you for watching!
The WHOLE thing use to be made of wood when I was a kid in the early 1980's. Even back then we appreciated the uniqueness in that WE NYC had the ONLY wooden escalator in the world. At least that's what they told us in school.
Not exactly the only ones in the world but certainly among the very last in existence. I rode on them in the Boston Subway in the 1980s and one set made it into the late 90s or so. As I understand it, there is a wooden escalator in Antwerp, Belgium still running. That being said, I thinks it's safe to say that the Macy's wooden escalator is the last in NY and may be the last in the United States.
@@travelswithtom9921 There was Huge Fire in the Kings Cross Tube station (subway) in London in 1987. The cause ? A discarded cigarette fell between two Grease covered Wooden Panels on it's Wooden Escalator. The angle of the escalator created a "blow torch effect". I'm pretty sure that's why we don't see them anymore.
I thought I read somewhere that because of their location they were more flammable as the wood soaked in trace amount of oil which compounded over decades.
When a company is good it lasts! 🤙🤙to Otis! And, Scott Joplin😉
Otis's story is pretty interesting by the way...nice to see his name still a brand name for elevators...Very different from Thyssenkrupp elevators especially when you read about Thyssen and Krupp and what they were into!
It even sounds cool!
Yes it does...the clacking sound is very unique
That is just too cool! Wish I had known it was there while we were in NY on vacay.
Something to put on the list for next time!
when my daughter and I were in New York some years back we took the opportunity to ride on it I knew that it was rare
I took the train from Boston with my son to ride this escalator...it's not often that something a century old is still running
Thanks for documenting this Tom. I lived in NYC for years and must have ridden it back when. I also remember a wooden escalator in Cambridge, MA, a subway escalator that served the Harvard University stop. I hope I recall that one correctly. Do you know anything about it?
Yes! Thanks for the clarification. I posted above.
I don't know about any stops in Cambridge but I do recall a wooden escalator on the Washington St. (now Downtown Crossing) stop on the red line. I was a teenager in the early eighties and remember being blown away that such a contraption existed!
State Street station on the Orange Line had a wooden escalator at least up till the late 70's. It was very loud and the inter-locking slats seemed to have about an inch gap, so each slat from the ajoining step was an inch wide, like a giant hair comb. I was a pre-teen and even I knew this thing was dangerous.
Gorgeous.
Thank you!
Cool, last time I remember riding a wooden escalator in the 80's in Higbee's in Cleveland when I was there on a trip.
I remember them on the Boston subway in the 80s
TIED with the Staten Island Ferry and The Coney Island CYCLONE for BEST RIDE in NYC!
I actually have a video of riding the Wonder wheel so have a look at that... Also, if you like my contact I sure would love another subscriber... Thank you for watching!
So cool! I remember them....
Thank you!
This is rad
Thank you for watching!
I rode it in 2007!
Still there!
I rode all of them when I was maybe 10 or 12.
Still there if you want it get another ride... Thank you for watching!
@@travelswithtom9921 I would, but I live out west. Maybe it'll still be there next time I visit.
💥 great
Thank you!
Pretty cool
Thank you!
kaCHONK klaLOnk ShaLonk KaNonk
Like an old wooden roller coaster! Thank you for watching
Wow. You’d think there’d still be a few…
I heard that Macy's is prioritizing keeping this one running. There used to be ones in the Boston subway system right until the 1990s. The only other ones I know of are in Europe. One in Antwerp and the other near London. Thank you for watching!
There was a huge fire on a wooden escalator in London that is why they stopped having them.
sooo cool
Thank you! If you like wierd old contraptions like this take a look at my paternoster elevator video ua-cam.com/video/dv1W8Q1t3aU/v-deo.html
There was one in Gimbels too wasn't there?
They did, gone now though... Macy's in Pittsburgh had them until they closed about 5y ago... Thank you for watching and if you like my content I sure would love another subscriber!
If I can recall correctly; I think there's an even older wooden escalator from like 1903 (around the time when this store first opened) that goes down to the basement level. I'm not sure if it's still there or in tact though. The video I seen on it was like from 2010-ish maybe?
Interesting...I might be going back so I will take a look
Bamberger's/Macy's at 109-135 Market Street, Newark, NJ had one in the early eighties. Not sure what's happening there now.
Likely gone as I thing the only other wooden escalators are in the Macy's in Pittsburgh
There was one of those in the Boston Subway system in the 60s. I THINK it was either the Harvard Square or Downtown Crossing stops.
Downtown Crossing back when it was still Washington St....I remember it well from my teenage years in the early 80s...I read that it lasted through the 1990s and then replaced
There was definitely one at Downtown Crossing, one long deep narrow ride. I used to enjoy it daily on my commute. I like to hum and sing to myself and and on that wooden escalator I could get through the entire song "They Can't Take That Away from Me."
I rode them 20 years agaio im stuned they are still their but then it was 4 floors worth
Only two now but looks like they going to make sure to keep it
Joseph and today 😀
Thank you for watching and, if you like my content, I sure would love another subscriber!
😭😭😭😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺🥺nooooooo
I was just there two months ago... They're fully operational and in great shape... From what I understand, Macy's is making it a priority to preserve them. . thank you for watching and, if you like the content, I sure would love another subscriber!
Yikes!!! Wonder how the gals with stiletto heels do it? They probably avoid it and take an elevator.
Someone mentioned that they balance on the ball of their feet for the ride
I hope they don't take it out.
This video reached somone who's partner is involved with the restoration of the store and told me that keeping this escalator is a high priority
@@travelswithtom9921 I videoed all of them last year, well over a dozen. Were they replaced? If so I will post what I have.
They dont build them like they used too!
You are right about that!