Musée Mécanique, Historic arcade museum at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, US.
Musée Mécanique is an arcade museum at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California, housing over 300 working mechanical entertainment devices from different decades. The collection includes antique pinball machines, music boxes, mechanical fortune tellers, and moving miniature scenes that all operate by hand with coins.
The collection started in the 1920s at the Playland amusement park and later moved to the basement of the Cliff House. In 2002, the machines found their current home at Pier 45 after the former building needed renovations.
The name nods to French art museums and brings a touch of elegance to the world of carnival machines. Visitors hear the clatter of pinball tables and the rattle of mechanical puppets while coins jingle through the hall.
The place opens daily from 10 AM to 8 PM and admission is free, while operating individual machines costs between one cent and one dollar. Bring a supply of quarters and smaller coins, as many devices use older coin systems.
A steam-powered motorcycle design from 1912 stands among the arcade machines and shows early experiments with alternative propulsion. In one corner, you can find delicate toothpick sculptures that inmates from San Quentin and Alcatraz created during their imprisonment.
Location: San Francisco
Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday,Holidays 10:00-20:00
Phone: +14153462000
Website: http://museemecaniquesf.com
GPS coordinates: 37.80925,-122.41579
Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:29
San Francisco brings together historical monuments and natural sites that reflect the city's unique history and geography. The Golden Gate Bridge, a 2,737-meter-long suspension bridge completed in 1937, is one of the region's most recognizable structures. Alcatraz Island, a former high-security...
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