The arcade at Fisherman’s Wharf Musée Mécanique
If there was something particularly memorable about the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, apart from the huge US navy ship parked by the berth and the splendid sunset, it would have to be Musée Mécanique.
As it names suggests in English, ‘The Mechanical Museum’, there is nothing glitzy about this arcade. The arcade is home to vintage machines which are mostly made of wood and traditional mechanical parts. There was paint peeling out of the arm used for arm wrestling. That being said, I found them much more authentic than the ones in Singapore.
What piqued Friend S’ interest were the machines which were used to test one’s strength (see pictures).
The hammer – try it at your peril
Don’t try it. The machine controls the hammer – it’s built of burly cow-boy strength. Not quite possible to get pass 300 in my opinion. I was pretty surprised at their strength – these machines looked like they were built-in from way back.
My take is that the machine is wired in such a way that makes you want to keep trying. Note to guys with prospective dates – if you want to impress, this is not the machine for it.
The other machines had different mechanical functions, ie. drop a coin in and a puppet song & dance would take place. Wished I had more coins on hand to put them into action.
The Travelling Squid’s Take
I’m not a big arcade fan, and I dislike the electronic whizzing sounds of the arcades in Singapore. But I found the arcade at Fisherman’s Wharf Musée Mécanique to be rather authentic, a walk through history, getting to know how people in the 70s or 80s spend their leisure time.
My only regret?
Not being able to see naughty Marietta do her stuff (see picture above). ; )
Just read that the collection of machines goes way back to the 1930s. Admission is free. You can change notes for coins via a machine. There was hardly any staff present – so much so for productivity! For more information, visit the museum’s website.
