Automat, 977 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan Online

Automat, 977 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan
This sweet slice of 1930s food service innovation was photographed by renowned artist and NYC chronicler Berenice Abbott in 1936. The photo’s starring subject? The mighty automat—a giant, fancy vending machine and gleaming testament to instant gratification, seen here doling out America’s go-to baked good. Automat, 977 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan is all about the automated food-serving apparatus itself. The photo’s angle emphasizes the splendor of the neatly organized array. The man with his back turned to the camera offered Abbott the perfect opportunity to show a patron interacting with the vending machine without the visual distraction of a face. This is a contraption worth marveling at, the image seems to suggest, and at the time this was shot, automats were indeed in their heyday.