mhanlen1
New member
Classic Arcade with EM pins found in Winfield, MO (many pics!)
So I recently had to move in with my dad, after a breakup and sudden move from South Carolina to Missouri. He lives in a small town more than an hour north of St. Louis, quite-a-ways out in the country. Since he has no cable and internet, and I'm in currently out of work (but looking), we wind up driving to pass the cold days away.
Today as we were out and about and looking for a place with free wireless internet, I asked about a nearby town I lived in about 25 years ago. Since we had no set destination, he asked if I wanted to head in that direction. It's a small town called Foley, and I had been there in almost as many years, so I said "yes." Well when we got there it turns out the house I had lived in was long gone, seemingly washed away by the great Mississippi some time in the late 90's. After having tried to remember the exact place the house stood, a house also lived in by two late Uncles (even before I my time), we headed South again towards home or a place with internet access.
As we drove we passed through a town called Winfield, a town in which I attended public school for the first time- so long ago. As I gazed out the passenger window, I noticed a glass storefront that housed well over a dozen pinball machines. Of course I had to share this find with my dad, although I had no idea if we could even access them. After telling him, he asked if I wanted to go back. I said "of course" and we circled back around the block.
The room looked dark, but it seemed connected next to a bar/resturaunt called Tavernia (or something close). The restaurant had it's "open" sign lit, and since it was around lunch we decided to eat there. Going inside it appeared that the attached storefront was, in fact, the gameroom for this restaurant. Awesome! I ordered quickly and asked the waitress for $5 in quarters- a task that seemed to take much longer than it should have. After receiving my quarters, I made my away across the room toward the door labeled "Gameroom." I was excited as I entered the room, even though it didn't seem to be heated. The Mississippi River is frozen solid just a mile or so north of Winfield, mind you.
Anyway... the games.
The lineup consisted of 2 vids, 4 upright EM's, and 15 pins that were mostly EM. My goal was to play a game on each, seeing as they only cost $.25 to play. The 1st pin I tried ate 3 of my quarters. Even so, I was undeterred and continued down the line. The machines looked to have been hard workers in the past, but the playfields and glass were all in good shape on the whole line-up. I didn't have a whole lot of time, but I was able to play 1 or two games a machine. Anyway the point is that I had a great time trying all these machines which I had never played, even though about half a dozen ate my quarters without letting me play a game. All of my games are currently stashed behind boxes of my stuff in the corner of cold garage, so I was happy to be able to find this place (and get my fix). Figured I'd share this story in case anyone else ever plans to head North of St. Louis, and wants a place to play quite a few classic pins. Oh... and the food was pretty good to boot. For interested parties: the Restaurant is on the main drag through town, and is open every day but Monday until 9pm.
Game List Left To Right (I'll label all the games I remember to be down.)
1. Coney Island (not working)
2. S.A.M.I. (not working)
3. Night Bomber
4. Scramble
5. Carnival Rifle
6. Amidar
7. Big Casino (not working)
8. Bowling Queen
9. Jungle Princess
10. Snow Derby
11. Solar Ride (not working)
12.Roller Disco
13. Jungle King
14. Masquerade
15. Rack-A-Ball
16. Fashion Show
17.Play Marcos
18.World Fair
19.Ice Revue
20. Show Boat
21. Aquarius
Sorry about the quality of the pics, but the only camera I currently own I also have to make calls with. Anyway enjoy the pics.
So I recently had to move in with my dad, after a breakup and sudden move from South Carolina to Missouri. He lives in a small town more than an hour north of St. Louis, quite-a-ways out in the country. Since he has no cable and internet, and I'm in currently out of work (but looking), we wind up driving to pass the cold days away.
Today as we were out and about and looking for a place with free wireless internet, I asked about a nearby town I lived in about 25 years ago. Since we had no set destination, he asked if I wanted to head in that direction. It's a small town called Foley, and I had been there in almost as many years, so I said "yes." Well when we got there it turns out the house I had lived in was long gone, seemingly washed away by the great Mississippi some time in the late 90's. After having tried to remember the exact place the house stood, a house also lived in by two late Uncles (even before I my time), we headed South again towards home or a place with internet access.
As we drove we passed through a town called Winfield, a town in which I attended public school for the first time- so long ago. As I gazed out the passenger window, I noticed a glass storefront that housed well over a dozen pinball machines. Of course I had to share this find with my dad, although I had no idea if we could even access them. After telling him, he asked if I wanted to go back. I said "of course" and we circled back around the block.
The room looked dark, but it seemed connected next to a bar/resturaunt called Tavernia (or something close). The restaurant had it's "open" sign lit, and since it was around lunch we decided to eat there. Going inside it appeared that the attached storefront was, in fact, the gameroom for this restaurant. Awesome! I ordered quickly and asked the waitress for $5 in quarters- a task that seemed to take much longer than it should have. After receiving my quarters, I made my away across the room toward the door labeled "Gameroom." I was excited as I entered the room, even though it didn't seem to be heated. The Mississippi River is frozen solid just a mile or so north of Winfield, mind you.
Anyway... the games.
The lineup consisted of 2 vids, 4 upright EM's, and 15 pins that were mostly EM. My goal was to play a game on each, seeing as they only cost $.25 to play. The 1st pin I tried ate 3 of my quarters. Even so, I was undeterred and continued down the line. The machines looked to have been hard workers in the past, but the playfields and glass were all in good shape on the whole line-up. I didn't have a whole lot of time, but I was able to play 1 or two games a machine. Anyway the point is that I had a great time trying all these machines which I had never played, even though about half a dozen ate my quarters without letting me play a game. All of my games are currently stashed behind boxes of my stuff in the corner of cold garage, so I was happy to be able to find this place (and get my fix). Figured I'd share this story in case anyone else ever plans to head North of St. Louis, and wants a place to play quite a few classic pins. Oh... and the food was pretty good to boot. For interested parties: the Restaurant is on the main drag through town, and is open every day but Monday until 9pm.
Game List Left To Right (I'll label all the games I remember to be down.)
1. Coney Island (not working)
2. S.A.M.I. (not working)
3. Night Bomber
4. Scramble
5. Carnival Rifle
6. Amidar
7. Big Casino (not working)
8. Bowling Queen
9. Jungle Princess
10. Snow Derby
11. Solar Ride (not working)
12.Roller Disco
13. Jungle King
14. Masquerade
15. Rack-A-Ball
16. Fashion Show
17.Play Marcos
18.World Fair
19.Ice Revue
20. Show Boat
21. Aquarius
Sorry about the quality of the pics, but the only camera I currently own I also have to make calls with. Anyway enjoy the pics.
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