a curated life

today we're taking a look, not at one of my collections, or even one of yours (which i love best), but at a rather famous collection- the Musee Mechanique.

{photo via Wikipedia, edits by moi}

the Musee Mechanique, located in San Francisco, is a museum of working antique and vintage penny arcade games and mechanically operated musical instruments, and is one of the largest privately owned collections of such games. Edward Zelinksky, the collector of all these contraptions, began his collection at the age of 11 and exhibited it at Playland, an amusement park that operated from the early 1900's until 1972 in San Francisco. after the closure of Playland, the collection was moved to the basement of the famous Cliff House until renovations forced another move, this time to Fisherman's Wharf, where it remains today.

'Laughing Sal', one of the more well known (and slightly terrifying) attractions. 

the mister and i visited the Musee Mechanique last winter, and though the pictures are not amazing (very bad lighting in there), i thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights.

the mister conquering some sort of space themed arcade game. 

though i look happy, i'm pretty sure i lost at this hi-ball esque game!

such an unusual pin ball theme!

skee ball- our favorite! of course we had to play a few rounds.

this is one of my favorites

love the 60's era photo booth they have! 

now that's a dedicated collector, right? if you're ever in San Francisco, i'd encourage you to check out the Musee Mechanique. admission is free, and the games are only a quarter or two to play- well worth your time and quarters!

as always- i'd love to see your collections too! send me a message at danae{at}gatherandhuntvintage{dot}com, and we'll talk!