Tonight I headed to Herald Square to visit Macy’s – not only my first time in this mammoth store, but also my first ever spin on its historic wooden escalators.

Macy’s at 34th Street is the largest department store in the city, taking up an entire block and stretching across ten floors. In 1902, it also became the first building in the world to house escalators, which were then built from wood. While many of the store’s escalators have been replaced with standard metal steps, there are still a few wooden sets left.

This evening, Ryan and I searched for the escalators and found they started half-way up the building. We jumped aboard, careful not to lose our toes. They may have been cute, but they were also a little vicious.

Riding the escalators was a novelty and a reminder of the landmark store’s history. I really hope they don’t replace the remaining sets with the metal kind.

And then I checked out the store’s wares.