On a recent trip to San Francisco we stayed in Fisherman’s Wharf. One of the attractions we definitely had to see in the Wharf was the Musée Mécanique. This is a free museum of penny arcade mechanical amusements, all of which you can try for yourself. Located on Pier 45 at the foot of Taylor Street it is a must-see attraction. Also, if you are a ‘penny collector’, like I am, it is a great place to press out a couple of souvenir pennies that you cannot get anywhere else. The museum is a piece of old San Francisco; it is part of their history. There’s even several photobooths for that special souvenir!
Stay and Play
Take a pocketful of quarters and spend a great couple of hours on the one arm bandits. Musée Mécanique is one of the world’s largest (over 200) privately owned collections of Victorian/vintage coin-operated machines. It includes mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade machines, many in their original working condition. The Zelinsky Collection, which forms the majority of the museum exhibits, has been in the same family since 1933.
The whole collection is over 300 machines. Daniel Galland Zelinsky now owns the museum. He is a fifth generation San Franciscan and a second-generation collector. He looks after and maintains the exhibits and is always looking to expand. Any worn or broken parts are manufactured on the premises in their machine shop and most repairs are done in house.
The Arcade
This place is like nowhere else you have ever been. Its not all gambling machines. There are penny skill games, penny horse racing games, music machines, nickelodeons, fortune tellers, picture machines, music boxes, automatons, space invaders, and so much more. One of the highlights, and probably the only one you will ever see is the steam powered motorcycle. The motorcycle was built in about 1912 in Sacramento by a man named Gillingwater. It is still in working condition, on display at the Musée Mécanique and it is the only one of its kind. The motorcycle is worth in excess of $250,000.
Highlights at the Musée Mécanique
So, what can you expect to see? There are some unique Peep shows (early San Francisco scenes/bawdy comedy) and the original mechanical farm. A hand-crafted carnival is also fully automated and on display. There are literally dozens of fascinating attractions and distractions including a sensational 1914 San Francisco exposition gypsy fortune teller. And of course the original Laughing Sal.
However, Tracey’s favourite machines were the 1980s Nintento and Sega games. Specifically, the car racing games like Out Run! She challenged Toby to a race, and he didn’t stand a chance 
Toby, of course, took a liking to the Alien Extermination shoot-em up …
