Musée Mécanique San Francisco
Musée Mécanique in San Francisco is filled with arcade machines from the 1880s to the 21st century. You can spend $10 and have the time of your life.
What is Musée Mécanique?
Wander the aisles of Musée Mécanique.
Musée Mécanique means “Mechanical Museum”.
While unlike any museum you may have visited, Musée Mécanique certainly meets the definition of a museum.
Museum: A building or place where works of art or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed.
Since its founding, Musée Mécanique has been both an arcade and an interactive museum; these machines are intended for play.
In fact, the machines must be used to keep the mechanical gears, springs, and pulleys from deteriorating.
A taste of Musée Mécanique.
Is Musée Mécanique Free?
Video games include Asteroids, Centipede, and Ms. Pac-Man.
Musée Mécanique is free to enter and you could watch other people having fun.
But there are ATMs and change machines because you need coins to bring these machines to life. Most games cost 25 or 50 cents.
Do you have a kiss that thrills?
There are classic video games like Asteroids, Centipede, and Ms. Pac-Man.
But the real stars are the 19th century and 20th century mechanical marvels, including fortune tellers, love testers, and pinball machines.
Musée Mécanique History
Olympics pinball machine circa 1962.
Edward Zelinsky first displayed his collection at Playland near Ocean Beach in San Francisco.
When Playland closed in 1972, Musée Mécanique moved to the basement of Cliff House, a restaurant just a few blocks north of Ocean Beach.
In 2002, during a renovation of Cliff House, Musée Mécanique moved again to Pier 45 on Fisherman's Wharf.
In the 1970s, Edward Zelinsky’s son, Dan, took a “temporary job” maintaining the collection.
Now, Dan Zelinsky is owner, manager, and repairman at Musée Mécanique. He even has a metal lathe in the back room to make replacement gears for the machines.
You may see Dan gliding through Musée Mécanique on roller skates because it’s the fastest way to get around this 9,300-square-foot museum.
Four figures in The Carnival.
The Carnival
The largest exhibit at Musée Mécanique is The Carnival, a diorama with more than 150 figures, including a lady on the trapeze, a Ferris wheel, and a merry-go-round.
This beautifully detailed mechanical masterpiece was built by a carnival showman after he was injured and forced to retire.
The showman’s love of the amusement world inspired him to design and build this magnificent miniature carnival.
Laughing Sal at Musée Mécanique
The first time you see and hear Laughing Sal, you might be disturbed.
The second time? You might be delighted. And laughing along with her.
From 1940-1972, Laughing Sal stood tall over the Fun House entrance at San Francisco’s Playland before it closed.
Officially known as Laffing Sal, the 6-foot-tall automaton was produced by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company which also created carousels and roller coasters for amusement parks.
The Laffing Sal leans forward and backward as she laughs and waves her arms to attract visitors. The Philadelphia Toboggan Company advertised these automated carnival barkers as:
“the greatest ballyhoo and attention-getters that have ever been developed for use in amusement resorts, carnivals or any other purpose where the attention of the public is desired.”
Hundreds of Sals were produced from the 1920s through the 1940s. It is estimated that only a dozen remain. Sal’s asking price in 1940 was $360 (equivalent to more than $8,000 today).
In 1992, Musée Mécanique purchased this Laughing Sal at a silent auction for $3,000. In 2004, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk bought a Laughing Sal at auction for $50,000.
Today, Musée Mécanique’s Dan Zelinsky continues to rebuff offers for his Laughing Sal.
The Oldest Machine at Musée Mécanique
A whirl of wooden gears, paper strips, and mirrors, the Praxinoscope is a sublime combination of art and apparatus, creating an optical illusion as it spins.
This Praxinoscope from 1884 is the oldest machine at Musée Mécanique.
The word “praxinoscope” translates roughly as “action viewer”.
The Praxinoscope was invented in France in 1877 by Charles-Émile Reynaud as a device to show animation. When he combined the Praxinoscope with a magic lantern, Reynaud achieved a form of image projection.
By 1889, Reynaud was able to project his pictures large enough to present them theatrically.
Reynaud continued with his Praxinoscope Theater until it was eclipsed in the early 19th century by the movies.
Of course, Musée Mécanique also has a Mutoscope which shows a motion picture of silent film star and comedian, Harold Lloyd, dancing on the steel beam of a high-rise building.
The Princess Diaries and Musée Mécanique
Mechanical arm wrestler at Musée Mécanique.
Musée Mécanique has been featured in several Hollywood movies, including the 2001 film, The Princess Diaries, with Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.
A scene from The Princess Diaries.
In this scene, Dame Julie Andrews takes on the mechanical arm wrestler at Musée Mécanique.
If you have a go at the mechanical arm wrestler, be careful. Everyone is surprised by his strength.
Toothpick Fantasy includes a ferris wheel.
The Legacy of Edward Zelinsky
In 1933, at the age of 11, Edward Zelinsky bought his first coin-operated machine: a penny skill game for 5 cents.
With over 300 machines, Musée Mécanique is one of the largest privately owned collections in the world.
In 2004, at the age of 82, Edward Zelinsky died of pancreatic cancer, leaving the collection to his son, Dan Zelinsky.
While the machines require constant maintenance and some machines have undergone major restorations, admission to Musée Mécanique remains free 365 days a year.
As Dan Zelinsky told The San Francisco Chronicle: “All we have to offer here is a good time.”
Even Laughing Sal can’t scoff at that.
Things to Know About Fisherman’s Wharf
Fisherman’s Wharf is a popular destination for tourists. As always, be aware of your belongings and your surroundings.
By Car: Parking at Fisherman’s Wharf
Streetcar and Cable Car: Public transportation to Fisherman’s Wharf
Rideshare: Depending on peak traffic and time of year (oh, let’s say a Friday in January at 4:36pm) rideshare may not be readily available at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Taxi: It would be wise to have a local taxi company (Yellow Cab: 415-333-3333) as a contact on your phone. You can call a human dispatcher and get a ride 24 hours a day.
Visit Musée Mécanique in San Francisco
Musée Mécanique
Pier 45 at the end of Taylor Street, Fisherman's Wharf
San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel: 415-346-2000
https://museemecanique.com/visit
Musée Mécanique hours: Open 365 days a year from 10am to 8pm.
Admission is free. To play the coin-operated machines, ATMs and change machines are available. Most games cost 25 or 50 cents.
The museum is wheelchair accessible and walker-friendly. Take a virtual tour of Musée Mécanique.
Due to the delicate nature of the machines, Musée Mécanique does not allow food and drink, private events or parties.
Public bathrooms are available behind the Chowder Hut across the street from Musée Mécanique.