Vintage Vending Machines

The classic 1950s Coca-Cola chest coolers, like the famous Westinghouse and Cavalier models, submerged bottles in a tank of ice-cold water, which kept them perfectly chilled. That satisfying clink of glass bottles is a fond memory for many!

A bottle of Coke cost just a nickel — 5 cents — for decades, and Coca-Cola famously resisted raising the price well into the 1950s. The company had locked in a 1-cent-per-bottle syrup contract with bottlers dating back to 1899!

Horn & Hardart opened their first Automat in Philadelphia in 1902, then expanded to New York City, where the cafeterias became beloved institutions. At their peak, they served hundreds of thousands of customers a day in New York alone.

A white gumball from a penny gumball machine traditionally meant you had won a free gumball — what a lucky surprise for a child! This custom was widespread in American corner stores and diners throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

The Vendo 81 was named for its capacity of 81 bottles, held in nine rows of nine, and it became one of the most recognizable soda machines of the 1950s and 1960s. The Vendo Company of Kansas City produced several popular models numbered by bottle capacity.

Cigarette vending machines featured rows of knobs or handles, one for each brand, which you pulled to release your pack. The satisfying mechanical clunk as the pack dropped was a familiar sound in any mid-century diner or lounge.

The very last Horn & Hardart Automat, on 42nd Street in New York City, closed its doors in 1991, ending a roughly 90-year run. The rise of fast-food chains like McDonald's in the 1960s and 70s had steadily eaten into their customer base.

The Cavalier Corporation of Chattanooga, Tennessee, produced some of the most beloved and collectible Coca-Cola cooler machines, including the famous CS-72 model. Today, restored Cavalier machines are prized by collectors.

True to their name, penny gumball machines really did operate on a single penny throughout the 1950s! A child could walk into any drugstore or five-and-dime, drop in one cent, and get a colorful gumball — simple childhood magic.

The Automat was inspired by coin-operated restaurants in Germany — the Quisisana automat in Berlin opened in 1895. Frank Hardart, of Bavarian heritage, was inspired by one on a European trip, and he and Joseph Horn brought the idea to Philadelphia in 1902.

Coffee vending machines became extremely popular in schools, offices, and bus stations during the 1950s and 1960s, dispensing a paper cup of hot coffee for a dime. The machines mixed hot water with powdered or liquid coffee concentrate right on the spot.

Pepsi's hit jingle promised 'Twelve full ounces, that's a lot — twice as much for a nickel, too.' While Coca-Cola sold its 6.5-ounce bottle for five cents, Pepsi offered a full 12 ounces for the same price, a clever Depression-era pitch that became famous on the radio.

The Ford Gum & Machine Company, which took that name in 1934 in Akron, New York, became one of the most iconic producers of globe-style gumball machines. Ford Gum machines were a staple in diners, barbershops, and five-and-dime stores across America for generations.

Aluminum cans took over from glass bottles in vending machines during the late 1960s and into the 1970s, as they were lighter, cheaper to ship, and easier for machines to handle. Many soda lovers still nostalgically prefer the taste from an old glass bottle!

At the Automat, customers exchanged paper money for nickels at a change booth, then inserted the correct number of nickels into a slot and turned a chrome knob to unlock the small glass door hiding their food. It felt like magic — as if a little elf behind the wall was cooking just for you!