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CNN SATURDAY MORNING NEWS
San Francisco's Antique Arcade Forced to Move
Aired August 24, 2002 - 09:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: For decades now, people in the San Francisco area have had boatloads of fun visiting an antique arcade. It's one of the few hands-on collections of antique coin-operated arcade games and mechanized musical instruments. Now the age-old arcade is forced to move. Rusty Dornin reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No high-tech bells and whistles to make this old clown do fancy footwork, and for Rosy Keehan, that's just fine. ROSY KEEHAN, VISITOR: The video games are just a little bit boring. These are fun. DORNIN: Games in the Musee Mecanique, an antique arcade opened in the 1920s near the Cliffhouse and Playland in San Francisco, bought by 80-year-old collector Edward Zelinsky in 1960. (on camera): How many of these machines were part of the Cliffhouse, about, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? EDWARD ZELINSKY, OWNER, MUSEE MECANIQUE: I would say about 50 percent. DORNIN (voice-over): Simpler times, when what it took to run a carnival display like this were wooden pulleys, springs, and a lot of glue. When sometimes winning the game wasn't even the point. Take Jolly Jack. EDWARD ZELINSKY: He laughs and makes other people laugh. That's all he does is laugh. DORNIN (on camera): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and people love this. EDWARD ZELINSKY: They love it. He doesn't do anything but laugh. DORNIN (voice-over): As does Giant Laughing Sal, an icon from the Playland days. There are mechanical fortune-tellers, player pianos, and even arm wrestling. Most of the games cost a quarter, although there is still one left from the penny arcade days. Now a national park renovation is squeezing the Musee Mecanique from its perch on a cliff near San Francisco's Steel Rock. A new home is promised nearby. Meantime, it must move to temporary quarters at Fishermans Wharf. EDWARD ZELINSKY: It's very sad. This is the San Francisco experience at the Cliffhouse, where it's been for years, and I think it should stay. DORNIN: Two hundred thousand people, Zelinsky says, drop quarters into the slots every year. But last year, he says, he lost money. Retired from a successful painting business, Zelinsky says he doesn't care about profit, and neither does his son, Danny, who's now in charge of tinkering with the toys. DANNY ZELINSKY, MUSEE MECANIQUE: I will do whatever possible to keep it intact and running and open to the public. EDWARD ZELINSKY: My son will do the best he can to keep this going forever. DORNIN: A labor of love, the old-fashioned way. Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco. (END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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