Artifact: 
Horn & Hardart Automat 

Where to find it: 
4th Floor Terrace Gallery 

Horn & Hardart Automat restaurants, with their inexpensive food, extended hours, and numerous locations, were considered democratic among New York City restaurants—the rich and the poor, immigrants, artists, and people of all races felt welcome in the Automat. This was also true for New York City’s LGBTQ+ community. In the 1994 book Gay New York, historian George Chauncey noted, “the Automat across the street from Bryant Park became particularly well known as the site of raucous gatherings.” In part, the working structure of an Automat helped make this the case—with minimal staffing, there was less chance of customers being harassed or kicked out for falling outside of society’s “norms.”