MuseEmechaNique.org
Title
Welcome to the Musee Mecanique - The Mechanical Musuem
Description
My collection consists of more than 300 items, ranging from orchestrions, coin operated pianos, antique slot machines, and animations, down to small bird boxes. Most of the items are displayed at the Musée Mécanique at Pier 45 in San Francisco, although I keep some of the more fragile and collectable items in my home.
Now, I started my collection when I was about 11 years old, and that's a long time ago. I went to the Ellis Theatre on Fillmore Street and during the intermission they had a Bingo game. My number was called and I ran on stage. They had a big wheel, I spun the wheel, and believe it or not, I won the grand prize! No, I didn't win a slot machine or a music box; I won five quarts of motor oil. Well, as I was 11 years old and I didn't have a car, I carried the five quarts of oil home and then sold the oil to my piano teacher for 75 cents. With the 75 cents in my pocket I rode the streetcar down to Golden Gate Avenue, an area where they sold slot machines and old jukeboxes. For 5 cents I bought a penny skill game that you put a penny in and get five balls and it goes around in a circle. I put pennies in it and taught my parents and my friends to do the same; it acted like a bank. I used the money I saved from the machine to buy more equipment and I visited that area many times over the years. One of my favorite purchases was a slot machine, which is now a collector's item. At the time slot machines sold for $20-$25, sometimes less. I bought a Charley Fay Liberty Bell slot machine for $25 and sold it for what I then thought was the fantastic price of $200 (it is now worth between $25,000 and $30,000). But that's the way of a collector-you should have done this and you should have done that.
When I returned from the service after World War II, I again visited Golden Gate Avenue. In the basement of one of the warehouses I found eight picture machines for $10 apiece, including delivery. These machines have been working ever since-first, for a penny. Then, later, I changed them to a nickel and they received the same amount of play. Later on, I changed them to a dime and the number of plays increased. Several years ago, I changed them to a quarter and the number of plays tripled.
Contact
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- San Carlos California
- United States 94070
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- +1.6505951740
