Wallet Card at the Horn & Hardart

Horn & Hardart Automats were once ubiquitous in the city.  From the 1920s to the 1960s these places were very popular. These automats had little glass containers on the walls with foods. You would put your coin in a slot and that would open up the glass container and get your food. Eventually the rise of fast food killed the automats. (In fact, the McDonalds you see in my last Wallet Card photo is actually the former location of an automat). I remember eating at one when I was a kid, it was kind of fun.

The last Horn & Hardart automat, on 42nd and 3rd, closed in 1991. The location at 7th and 38th most have closed many years earlier, but their sign is still clearly visible above a parking garage.