Proprietor Dan Zelinsky Talks About Working to Keep San Francisco’s Musée Mécanique Open to the Public

“Nostalgia Museum” is a touching short film by Sofie Kodner and Eleonora Bianchi for the KQED Arts series Truly CA that focuses on the Musée Mécanique (previously), a wonderful antique arcade in San Francisco that has been run by proprietor Dan Zelinsky for the past 40 years and by his father Edward before that. The filmmakers document Zelinsky’s ongoing quest to keep the arcade going in spite of the challenges of keeping it open, especially during the pandemic.

Antique arcade Musée Mécanique has provided entertainment to San Franciscans and tourists alike for nearly a century. But the pandemic almost marked its end.

Zelinsky talks about the history of the arcade, the ever-growing need to provide upkeep to various historic machines, and the fact that he has an ongoing GoFundMe page that is helping to keep the doors open.

The short documentary ‘Nostalgia Museum’ provides an intimate portrait of owner Dan Zelinsky as he struggles to keep the legacy of this iconic San Francisco institution alive in the face of economic loss and mechanical deterioration.

Here’s Zelinsky’s GoFundMe video that was posted during the pandemic.

via Eddie Codel