Silverball Museum Arcade
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
This picture shows the entrance of the Silverball Museum Arcade in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Photo by Molly Mulshi.
This picture is the main logo of the Silverball Museum Arcade, from the Silverball Museum Arcade website.
This is picture 1 of 5, credited to photographer Joseph Murphy, that shows what type of pinball games would be at Silverball Museum Arcade. The games "Majorettes" and "World Fair" can be seen side by side.
This is picture 2 of 5, credited to photographer Joseph Murphy, that shows what type of pinball games would be at Silverball Museum Arcade. This example is "Bally Captain Fantastic."
This is picture 3 of 5, credited to photographer Joseph Murphy, that shows what type of pinball games would be at Silverball Museum Arcade. This game shown is Gottlieb's "Lightning Ball."
This is picture 4 of 5, credited to photographer Joseph Murphy, that shows what type of pinball games would be at Silverball Museum Arcade. This example exhibited here is "Bally Wizard!"
This is picture 5 of 5, credited to photographer Joseph Murphy, that shows another row of what type of pinball games would be at Silverball Museum Arcade. Another example that is clearly visible is an Indiana Jones pinball game.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Asbury Park, New Jersey has at times in its history been a desirable seaside resort town, and at other times experienced great economic distress and strife. It is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity. One unique place visitors won't want to miss when visiting is the Silverball Museum Arcade, opened in 2010.
Why is the Silverball Museum Arcade worth a trip? It is an entertaining place where people can play pinball machines that date from the 1930s - the 1990s. As in your "usual" museum, there are signs where visitors can learn everything about a particular machine. However, these pinball machines can not only be touched but also played by visitors of all ages! While having fun, people can learn the history of the games they are playing.
The Silverball Museum Arcade began with Rob Ilvento having an idea. Inspired by his daughter, , he opened a location on the Asbury Park boardwalk with buisness partner, Steve Zuckerman. Consequently, Silverball became popular very quickly for a couple of reasons. First, people travel back in time with one difference, no quarters. Just like a bowling alley or a batting cage, visitors can pay a fee to play for a certain amount of time. It is ten dollars to play for a half hour and twelve dollars and fifty cents to play for one hour. Furthermore, visitors can pay a monthly fee for a membership.
Examples of pinball machines from the 1950s include Knockout, Hayburners, and Rocket. Some of the newer historic games consist of Indiana Jones and Star Trek: The Next Generation, both from 1993. In addition, Silverball is now putting some even more recent pinball machines on display such as The Wizard of Oz from 2013, The Hobbit from 2016, and Pirates of the Caribbean from 2018. They might be new, but they represent the latest iteration in pinball history.
Sources
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Page, Jeffrey. "Museum Casts Spell on Pinball Wizards." The Record (Bergen County, NJ), October 30, 2010, sec. F, 1. https://search.proquest.com/usnews/docview/761288972/abstract/181646F5A19A47BEPQ/26?accountid=12532.
Silverball Museum Arcade. "Silverball Museum Arcade." Silverball Museum Arcade. Last modified 2019. Accessed February 12, 2019. http://silverballmuseum.com/asbury-park/.
———. Silverball Museum Arcade Logo. 2019. Photograph. Accessed February 21, 2019. http://silverballmuseum.com/asbury-park/.
Silverball Museum Arcade, and Joseph Murphy. "Silverball Photos by Joseph Murphy." Silverball Museum Arcade. Last modified 2019. Accessed February 21, 2019. http://silverballmuseum.com/asbury-park/galleries/silverball-photos-joseph-murphy/.
Silverball Museum Arcade Games. 2019. Photograph. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/silverball-museum-arcade.
Stein, Sheryl. "Attention, Pinball Wizards: There's a Museum in New Jersey Just for You." The Washington Post. Last modified March 8, 2016. Accessed February 12, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/attention-pinball-wizards-theres-a-museum-in-new-jersey-just-for-you/2016/03/08/442db330-cc5b-11e5-88ff-e2d1b4289c2f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.aaa9afbbdb80.