Wallet Card at the Macy's Maddock Madera

Everything that exists has a dedicated core of fans. There are baseball card fans. Sign fans. Elevator fans. Escalator fans. And even toilet fans. There is a small but dedicated community of people who post videos of all the toilets they find, with comments as extensive and spirited as you would see on any baseball card forum. It's not really my thing, but I respect people who love something enough to become an expert on it. And these people can look at a toilet and instantly rattle off the make, model and year.

One favorite spot for these toilet fans is the ninth floor of the Herald Square Macy's. There you can find toilets that date back to the building's original expansion in 1924. These are Madera toilets produced by Maddock. It is clear that they date from 1924 because Maddock was acquired by American Standard in 1929.  (The toilet fans generally claim that the American Standard Madera's are clearly inferior to the Maddocks.) Here are links to some more information on the Madera (still produced by American Standard today) and a couple of the YouTube videos featuring these toilets with dozens of comments by fans. (Don't worry, there is nothing gross.)

And yes, after taking the photo I used a 93-year-old toilet. I hope its still around in 2024!