These days you can get a lot more than cash at an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM). With news of the first 24 hour Cupcake ATM arriving to New York City’s Upper East Side, we thought we would round up our top 5 favorite quirky ATMs here in the city.
1. Sprinkles Cupcake ATM
We wouldn’t have imagined it was possible, but New York City’s first cupcake ATM launched at the end of March. Sprinkles, the Beverly Hills bakery, installed the machine at 780 Lexington Avenue and promises that the cupcakes inside it will always be fresh. The cupcake ATM will operate 24 hours a day and can deliver up to four cupcakes at a time. The Upper West Side will get one within the year.
2. The Gold ATM
We’re not sure who would buy gold from an ATM, but here in New York City, the millionaires and billionaires moving into the supertall skyscrapers on 57th Street have the option. Located on West 57th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, the gold ATM dispenses gold bars and rare coins. A touch screen displays the options and prices, which are updated every few minutes. There are at least 20 of these gold ATMs in the world and they are theft-proof.
3. Bikestock bike parts Vending Machine
Bikestock was founded to cater to cyclists on the go. The machine vends tubes, tools, tires, patch kits, ponchos, food and drinks. There’s even an air pump for cyclists who need to fill their tires. The 24/7 vending machine is located at 49 Bogart Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn. There’s also a great DIY bike parts vending machine at Time’s Up in Williamsburg.
4. ATM in a British payphone
On the tip of a triangle formed by Bedford Avenue, Nassau Avenue and Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, this normal cash-dispensing ATM has been cleverly disguised in an old British telephone booth. This quirky find is in a convenient spot, as it’s surrounded by some of Greenpoint’s most popular bars and restaurants, like Nights & Weekends, Manhattan Inn and Five Leaves.
5. L’Oreal’s Automatic Makeup Distributor
This L’Oreal vending machine makeup distributor was being tested in the Bryant Park subway station late last year. Called the “L’Oréal Paris Intelligent Color Experience,” the machine asked you to stand still as it detected the colors in your outfit and then recommended products to match, which you could buy on the spot. The machine sold eye shadow, mascara, nail polish, lipstick and gloss in a wide variety of shades.
It’s located just around the corner from the Communist Party Headquarters at Place Colonel Fabien. There’s just one in Paris right now but the creator, French baker Jean-Louis Hecht, has big plans to take the traditional baguette into modern times.
Laura is the managing editor of Untapped New York and a freelance writer based in Rome with a passion for covering travel, arts and culture, lifestyle, design, food and wine. Her writing has also appe
