It’s the perfect time of the year to visit Macy’s: for holiday shopping, browsing Christmas displays, and to pay homage to the wonderfully creaky old wood escalators that still ferry customers between floors.
Could they really date to 1902, as the store implies here?
Head to the middle of the store to find them, and though the escalators on each floor have wood handrails, only the ones between the eighth and ninth floors have wood steps.
Don’t miss the warnings (not in the photos) about avoiding them if you’re wearing stilettos!
Tags: history of Macy's, Macy's 1902 store, Macy's New York City, Macy's wood escalators, New York defunct department stores, New York famous department stores, secrets of Macy's department store
Ephemeral New York 
November 29, 2012 at 7:52 am |
I recall similar wooden escalators in the Higbees department store in downtown Cleveland, but I understand that these have been removed in recent years.
November 30, 2012 at 4:44 pm |
Ahhh, the wonderful Higbees in Cleveland’s Public Sq. I remember fondly. It’s a Casino now but I think they may have saved those escalators. I think, not sure.
December 25, 2014 at 9:05 pm
Unfortunately, the wooden escalators that were in the building were removed sometime in 2000s, before the Horseshoe Casino took over the lower floors. They would have liked to have brought them back to life as part of the new casino, but as the building was repurposed after Higbee’s/Dillard’s departure, the escalators were removed, partly due to code issues.
November 29, 2012 at 10:26 am |
When I worked there as stock boy for Christmas some years ago that was my favorite way to go up or down, though there were the elevators.
November 29, 2012 at 9:44 pm |
hey i did that too.
November 29, 2012 at 3:43 pm |
Thanks for posting them!!! Glad to know they’re STILL alive and creeeeeekin! (always used to scare me)
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:07:38 +0000 To: alpodawkins@hotmail.com
November 29, 2012 at 6:14 pm |
It’s ironic that we were just up in NY for a wedding, did a little shopping and by chance rode the wooden escalator. I was amazed that it exists. I think there were a few left at Abraham and Strauss in Brooklyn when I worked there in the 80’s.
November 29, 2012 at 6:31 pm |
They’re an incredible fire hazard, as we found out in Boston in 1994.
November 29, 2012 at 6:42 pm |
I have to look again but I think that the old Abraham & Straus flagship store in Brooklyn (now a Macy’s branch) has a wood escalator.
November 29, 2012 at 9:20 pm |
Oh, that would be wonderful—a fire hazard as Dave says above, but enchanting.
November 29, 2012 at 7:42 pm |
[…] The last wooden escalators in NYC? (Ephemeral New York) […]
November 30, 2012 at 4:34 pm |
FYI: My company manufactures escalator steps and many years ago was approached by Macy’s in house maintenance department asking us to quote on wooden escalator steps. At first I thought it was a prank call but visits to their Flagship store proved they existed. The wood that is used on these steps is quite specialized and yes these steps and the landing plates scare the heck out of me when I ride them during trips to NYC. One of the reasons it took many years to replace the wooden escalators at Macy’s was because of the revenue they lost with the units being out of service and the building was constructed around the escalators which made quite a challenge for any company to take on as a modernization project
December 1, 2012 at 2:48 pm |
Those wooden escalator steps bring back a ton of memories. My Mother would bring my sister & myself down to Herald Sq to shop when we were kids. I used to ride those steps up and down. They made the sweetest sound that I can remenber to this day!
Also those trips includes a visit to the local Chock Full O’Nnuts for a treat!
December 2, 2012 at 8:10 pm |
FYI Up until 1996 & maybe still.The old S&C dept storein Philly had a wooden esc. Was about 100 yrs old at that. It was in the sub-basement where stock was kept.
December 3, 2012 at 9:48 pm |
Yes! I remember those old wood escalators – I can’t believe they are still in operation. When my grandmother was still in good health, she used to take me shopping at Macy’s Herald Square. Great memories.
December 5, 2012 at 10:04 pm |
I passed by Macy’s today and, to my surprise, the wood escalators are actually featured in one of their Christmas window displays on the Broadway side of the store. Here is photo of it (not mine): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffdobbins/8218446120/in/photostream/ The text on the window says, “Clickety clack… Macy’s wooden escalators date to 1927. Their nostalgic sound still enchants.”
December 5, 2012 at 11:10 pm |
Love it Joe R, thanks for the link!
December 6, 2012 at 4:09 am |
I swear I read that Macy’s would be restoring the wood elevators as part of their massive renovation. Has anyone seen that stated somewhere?
Also, aren’t there more wooden escalators than just the middle ones between 8 and 9? I think perhaps some of the 7th Ave. building escalators.
My only other experience with these was also with Public Square in Cleveland, in the 1990s: I want to say the old Higbee’s was a Dillard’s then? Don’t forget that’s also the store in A Christmas Story! 🙂
December 6, 2012 at 8:55 pm |
I was just there last week… I haven’t lived in NYC long so it was only my 2nd visit. But I was thinking how cool those wood escalators were! 🙂
December 7, 2012 at 4:27 am |
I love the wooden escalators. But aren’t the ones to the cellar also still wood?
August 31, 2018 at 1:53 pm |
Sure, nowadays they may be a hazard, maybe because people are too busy on their phones and tablets to watch where they’re going. Or why did that kid who lost a finger have a water bottle on an escalator to begin with? And what was “mom” doing? No one accepts responsibility for their actions any more.
Thank you, thank you for preserving these wooden escalators and paying homage to our history. Also, for refusing to accept the modernity and disregard for character and life-long durability.