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Musée Mécanique

A hundred year old laughing lady, a mechanical carnival, and a room full of machines that still take quarters.

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Musee Mecanique sits on Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf and holds more than 300 working coin-operated machines, the oldest a Praxinoscope from 1884. Entry is free; you pay the machines instead, in quarters and dollar bills. Ed Zelinsky began the collection as a boy in the 1930s and his son Dan runs it now.

1More than 300 mechanical machines, one of the world's largest privately owned collections
2Oldest piece is a Praxinoscope built in 1884; newest are 1980s video games
3Admittance is free; visitors pay to use each machine

Full transcript

1

The Collection

Musee Mecanique began as one boy's habit. Edward Zelinsky started collecting coin operated mechanical machines in the 1930s. The collection spent 30 years in the basement of the Cliff House and had to move when that building was renovated, which took a public campaign to keep it in the city at all. Since 2002 it has been on Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf, run by his son Dan, and it is free to enter. You do not pay admission. You pay quarters and dollar bills into the machines. There are more than 300 of them, the oldest a Praxinoscope from 1884 and the newest video cabinets from the 1980s. Mechanical dioramas, fortune tellers, player pianos, boxing matches between carved wooden figures, and pinball machines before they had electricity.

2

Laffing Sal

The star of the collection is Laffing Sal — a six foot tall mechanical woman in a red dress who throws her head back and laughs. The Philadelphia Toboggan Company built figures like her in the early 1930s to pull crowds into funhouses, and this one worked the Fun House at Playland at the Beach until the Musee bought her at auction in 1972. Her laugh is a high, uncontrollable cackle that carries through the whole room. She was meant to draw a crowd. She still does. Most visitors hear her before they see her. Children either love her or run.

3

What to Play

Start with the player pianos — they use paper rolls with holes punched in them, and the mechanism reads the holes and presses the keys. Then find the arm wrestling machine. Then try the mechanical execution of a criminal (a French diorama from the 1890s — grim and fascinating in equal measure). Bring a roll of quarters. Find the change machine in the back before you start.

The checkable facts

  • More than 300 mechanical machines, one of the world's largest privately owned collections
  • Oldest piece is a Praxinoscope built in 1884; newest are 1980s video games
  • Admittance is free; visitors pay to use each machine
  • Housed in the Cliff House basement from 1972, moved to Fisherman's Wharf in 2002
  • Laffing Sal is a six-foot laughing automaton
  • Philadelphia Toboggan Company produced Laffing Sal figures from the early 1930s; this one came from the Fun House at Playland at the Beach and was bought at auction in 1972
  • The collection spent 30 years in the basement of the Cliff House and had to move when that building was renovated, which took a public campaign to keep it in the city at all.
  • Then try the mechanical execution of a criminal (a French diorama from the 1890s — grim and fascinating in equal measure).
  • The collection spent thirty years in the basement of the Cliff House and moved when that building was renovated, which took a public campaign to keep it in San Francisco at all.
  • Then the French execution diorama from the 1890s, which is grim and fascinating in equal measure, and unlike anything else on the wharf.
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What travelers say

Distilled from Google, TripAdvisor, Reddit and Chinese-language posts — every claim links to its source.

Reddit

"It's not a pinball arcade-- it has maybe a couple hundred mechanical coin operated games and entertainment"

Tip: Treat it as a museum of coin-op machines rather than a pinball arcade, and budget time to sample many different mechanical games.
corrects a common misconception
TripAdvisor

"you can actually play more than 200 arcade games and mechanical amusements dating from the 1800s to today."

Tip: Prioritize hands-on play over passive viewing, since the collection spans centuries and many machines are meant to be operated.
emphasizes interactive scale
Reddit

"It has a large collection of antique (100+ year old) coin-operated arcade machines"

Tip: If you like very old machines, focus on the antique coin-operated section first, as it is the site's distinctive draw.
local first-time impression
Reddit

"One of my favorites was "End Of The Trail" which is just a fan blowing across a desert scene."

Tip: Seek out simple optical and mechanical oddities like End of the Trail, which can be more memorable than flashy games.
specific machine recommendation

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Frequently asked

Is Musee Mecanique free?
Entry is free. You pay the machines instead, which is the whole point of the place: quarters and dollar bills go into the slot and the machine does what it has done since it was built. A roll of quarters is the right way to arrive. The change machine is at the back.
How many machines are in Musee Mecanique?
More than 300, and one of the largest privately owned collections of its kind anywhere. The oldest is a Praxinoscope from 1884; the newest are video cabinets from the 1980s. Mechanical dioramas, fortune tellers, player pianos, carved wooden boxers and pre-electric pinball fill the rest.
Who is Laffing Sal?
A six-foot mechanical woman who throws her head back and cackles. The Philadelphia Toboggan Company built figures like her in the early 1930s to pull crowds into funhouses, and this one worked the Fun House at Playland at the Beach before the Musee bought her at auction in 1972. Most visitors hear her before they see her.
Where is Musee Mecanique and how did it get there?
Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf, since 2002. The collection spent thirty years in the basement of the Cliff House and moved when that building was renovated, which took a public campaign to keep it in San Francisco at all. Ed Zelinsky started it as a boy; his son Dan runs it.
What should you play first at Musee Mecanique?
The player pianos, because you can watch the mechanism read the punched paper roll and press the keys. Then the arm wrestling machine. Then the French execution diorama from the 1890s, which is grim and fascinating in equal measure, and unlike anything else on the wharf.

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