Episode 411: The Strong National Museum of Play
A must-see in Rochester, NY! Home to both the World Video Game Hall of Fame, and the Toy Hall of Fame...and a whole lot of pinball machines and history. And all of it is interactive! Jeremy...
Highlights
- The Strong National Museum of Play opened to the public in 1982, based on Margaret Woodbury Strong's will and collection
- The museum has acquired original playfield drawings from Harry Williams' second game through the 1990s, including Mark Ritchie's Indiana Jones sketches
- The museum recently added 90,000 square feet of new space with 25,000 square feet dedicated to electronic games history (opened summer 2023)
- The Strong has acquired materials from Steve Epstein's work including Broadway Arcade documents, scrapbooks, photographs, and video footage from the 1980s-90s
- Steve Epstein's Broadway Arcade hosted Lou Reed's wedding reception
- Pinball interest and manufacturer participation may be at an all-time high in 2024-2025 compared to historical peak periods
Notable quotes
“We don't want you to just come and see these things. We want you to play, too. And so all of our exhibits are interactive. We're a play museum.”
“Steve was such an iconic figure in the history of coin op and the history of pinball in particular...Steve understood better than I think most the ways in which coin-op games and pinball brought people together.”
“The operator, the person who owns the arcade...is really that's an area that isn't very much talked about in the history of coin op...But somebody's got to foot the bill and give us the location to be able to play these.”
“I think we're in the sweet spot right now. I think we're only getting better and growing.”
“The arcade evolved...When pinball was introduced, that changed the arcade...Video games changed, redemption, right? So the arcade, it's definitely had its peaks and valleys in terms of how many of them. But part of...the history we want to get at too, is that the arcade endures in a variety of forms.”
Entities
- Brian Sutton Smith Library and Archives of Play· organization
- Broadway Arcade· organization
- Pinball Profile· organization
- Rochester Pinball Collective· organization
- Strong National Museum of Play· organization
- Toy Hall of Fame· organization
- Video Game Hall of Fame· organization
- George Gomez· person
- Harry Williams· person
- Jeff Teolis· person
- Jeremy Saussure· person
- Margaret Woodbury Strong· person
- Mark Ritchie· person
- Roger Sharp· person
- Steve Epstein· person
- American Journal of Play· product
- ESL Digital Worlds exhibit· product
- Hasbro Game Park· product
- Infinity Arcade exhibit· product
- Papa· product
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