Discovering the arcade's past!
A journey through the history of coin-op. Games, jukeboxes, vending, and more from the 1st century to the 20th!
| https://twitter.com/ourlostarcade |
Mills Novelty pioneered in the micro-sized music access device.
Move over remote touchscreens, this is the Wallbox.
Hailing from the unusual amusement zone of Boston, Massachusetts, the Tally-Bowl was a unique take on the skee ball/miniature bowling #arcade concept.
Players had to roll the ball up a turn-around ramp - and then reset the balls themselves!
It was not long-lived.
I discovered the precise date of the ban, though some years ago Ryan Zickgraf of the Chicago Reader made a noble effort to determine when it occured.
https://chicagoreader.com/blogs/chicago-once-waged-a-40-year-war-on-pinball/
I'm still searching for the exact date of LA's pinball ban.
Today is an important day in #pinball history: 90 years ago, pinball operation was banned in the City of Chicago.
The "Prohibition against Bagatelle or Pigeonhole Games" was maintained until 1977, even as the pinball companies continued to build their machines there.
Mannequins and models were great eye-catchers for a novelty vending, especially when selling something like perfume.
Mills Novelty's Perfume Lady line had both stand-up and life-sized models of many stripes to draw the eye - and fetch the coin.
It's the beginning of the space age, but I also want to go bowling.
Rocket Shuffle by Chicago Coin satisfies both of those base needs! The 1950s - as encapsulated in a single cabinet. #arcade
A beautiful penny pistol: Early model countertop shooting game L'Éclair by Louis Loubet of Charlebourg, France.
Note at the bottom that is has a dispenser - I'm sure those were just souvenir coins. #arcade
What would be your desert island game?
Midway hoped to - at the very least - fill that question literally with Sea Rescue in 1971.
It was a Helicopter-type landing game with some more intricate maneuvering required - featuring all the standards of EM "audio visual" experiences.
This moment which turned the fortunes of coin-operated games in America was portrayed (and lightly lampooned) in the film Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game.
Would you believe that Chicago was the last major U.S. city to legalize pinball? That's a story for next month.
