Please welcome out latest guest blogger, the inimitable Aaron Muszalski, letting us know about the grand opening of Playland-Not-at-the-Beach. -Scott
Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, a “Museum of Fun” intended to celebrate and share the magic of amusement parks, circuses, penny arcades and other classic entertainments, celebrates its grand opening this weekend.
Mark your calendars for May 31 and June 1, 2008. The Museum of Fun, eight years in the making, is located at 10979 San Pablo Avenue (at the corner of Jefferson Street) in El Cerrito, CA. It will be open to the public from 10 AM to 5 PM each day of the grand opening celebration. The regular admission prices are reduced to just $5 per person this weekend only.
The museum is a labor of love by Richard Tuck, a Bay Area native who, as a child, regularly visited San Francisco’s famous Ocean Beach amusement park, Playland at the Beach.
Tuck grew up in the Bay Area and went to Whitney’s Playland and the Sutro Baths as a child. He has always been fascinated by amusement parks, magic, side shows, carnivals and circuses. “It’s a shame that today’s kids don’t get a chance to witness the earlier entertainments of a bygone age,” Tuck muses. “Playland-Not-at-the-Beach is a Museum of Fun, allowing kids of all ages (from 5 to 105) to enjoy the same things their great grandparents laughed at a hundred years ago.”
Playland-Not-at-the-Beach’s many exhibits include playable vintage pinball games, dioramas, Playland artifacts and ephemera, a circus sideshow, vintage movies and original murals. They even have their very own Laffing Sal, the famous mechanical fun house character whose raucous chortling frightened as many children as it amused.
The Museum is an entirely volunteer-run charitable organization, and as such is normally open by appointment only, making this weekend’s event a great opportunity to peruse its unique and wonderful collection.
via Criollo
images via Playland-Not-at-the-Beach
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I wonder if some of the stuff came from the John Wickett’s Museum of Exotica collection?
I’m 50-something and my grandparents used to take me to the Fun House when I was a little kid. It was so much fun!! I remember the hysterically laughing larger-than-life figure at the front (she was a little scary), the spinning round things you had to squeeze through to enter, the crazy mirrors, the slide. My grandparents, who went by the names Bam-Bam and Pop-Pop, and I didn’t stop laughing the whole time we were there— they were pretty cool grandparents. I live in Hawaii now and will be sure to visit Playland on my next visit. Bravo to Richard Tuck!
In our museum we have several items from John Wickett’s museum (the Sutro Clown for example), but most of our artifacts came from the generosity of Dave Warren, Joe Mirante, Marv Gold, Michael Pedroni, Marilyn Blaisdale, the Smit Family, and many other people who lived, worked and played at Whitney’s Playland at the Beach.
Richard Tuck
Master of Fun
Playland-Not-at-the-Beach
the fun house looks scarey
For some reason.. that place looks creepy with all the historical stuff.
I checked it out and loved it =)
Glad you liked it, Al!
I’ve heard similar responses from everyone who visited. A diverse array of exhibits combined with friendly and knowledgeable volunteers made for a really unique and enjoyable event.
For those of you who couldn’t attend this weekend’s Grand Opening, Playland-Not-at-the-Beach can still easily be visited, you simply have to contact them to make an appointment first, so they can arrange to have volunteers on-hand. Highly recommended!
StiltDancers were out in force both days, bringing the life of the circus back to the amusements of yesteryear. Kids from 3 to 93 had a blast as Stiltdancers created living tunnels within the labyrinth of the Museum of Fun. The “Laff in the Dark” room was amazing for us on stilts… go there and find out why!