Musée Mécanique Facts for Kids

This page is about the San Francisco, California museum. For the Portland, Oregon band, Musée Mécanique, see Musée Mécanique (band).

Quick facts for kids
Musée Mécanique

Entrance to the Musée Mécanique at Pier 45, Shed A
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Location	San Francisco, California
Visitors	100,000+ (2002)
Public transit access	Jefferson & Taylor

The Musée Mécanique (which means "Mechanical Museum" in French) is a really cool museum in San Francisco, California. It's located at Fisherman's Wharf. This museum is packed with old-fashioned arcade games and amazing mechanical machines from the 1900s. It's like a giant, interactive playground from the past! With more than 300 machines, it's one of the largest collections of its kind in the world.

History of the Museum
- Moving to Fisherman's Wharf
- Musée Mécanique Today
What You Can Find in the Collection
Gallery
See also

History of the Museum

The story of the Musée Mécanique began with a boy named Ed Zelinsky. He started collecting these fun machines when he was just 11 years old. In the 1920s, his collection was shown at a famous amusement park called Playland in San Francisco.

When Playland closed down in 1972, the Musée Mécanique found a new home. It moved into the basement of a building called Cliff House. Ed Zelinsky's son, Dan Zelinsky, started helping out in the 1970s. He took care of all the machines.

The museum has even been featured in movies and TV shows! It appeared in the 2001 film The Princess Diaries. It was also in a 2011 episode of the Japanese TV show GameCenter CX.

Moving to Fisherman's Wharf

In 2002, the Cliff House building needed big repairs. So, the museum had to move temporarily to Fisherman's Wharf. This move cost a lot of money, but it was supported by different groups and the museum's owner, Ed Zelinsky.

Many people in San Francisco were upset about the move. They loved the museum at Cliff House and felt it was a big part of their history. Over 12,000 people signed an online petition to try and stop the move. They thought the museum might close forever.

Even though people were sad, the museum manager, Dan Zelinsky, understood. He knew how much these machines meant to people. He said that for older generations, these were their "video games." He felt that when visitors walked in, they were going back in time. The museum was supposed to return to Cliff House later, but it has stayed at Fisherman's Wharf ever since.

Musée Mécanique Today

Today, the Musée Mécanique is still owned and managed by Dan Zelinsky. Keeping all these old machines working is a lot of work! They need constant care and sometimes big repairs.

More than 100,000 people visit the museum every year. It's free to enter, which is great! But you need to pay a small amount to play each game. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report said it was one of the top three "Things to Do in San Francisco." SF Weekly also called it the "Best Old-School Arcade" that same year.

In May 2020, there was a fire at Fisherman's Wharf. It destroyed a warehouse nearby. Luckily, firefighters put out the fire before it reached the museum. This saved the amazing collection of machines!

What You Can Find in the Collection

The museum has over 300 different mechanical games and amusement devices. About 200 of them are on display at the museum right now. You can find all sorts of cool things, like:

Music boxes
Coin-operated fortune teller machines
Old-fashioned movie viewers called Mutoscopes
Classic video games
Love testers
Player pianos (pianos that play by themselves!)
Photo booths
Detailed dioramas (miniature scenes)
And even pinball machines!

The museum has many rare and special items. In the middle of the museum, there's a huge diorama of a traveling carnival. It has a tiny Ferris wheel and other rides. The museum also has what might be the only steam-powered motorcycle in the world. It was built in Sacramento in 1912.

Another cool display is the Royal Court diorama. It shows couples ballroom dancing. This display was even shown at a big event called the Panama–Pacific International Exposition a long time ago. You'll also see Laffing Sal, a 6-foot-tall laughing robot. She's famous for being a little bit spooky! The museum also has a collection of amazing machines made entirely out of toothpicks by prisoners.