
Arcades are a very Bachelor Uncle kind of place. The arcades of old were dark, dangerous little dens of inequity where 20 something scumbags ruled the roost. In my hometown we had an arcade in the mall full of ridiculous games like Primal Rage and WarGods. If there was a shitty fighting game, this arcade got it.
But there was a time when arcades were full of fantastic machines that seemed to operate on magic and imagination. Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum is not an arcade full of Street Fighter cabinets and hardcore mid-90s nostalgia. No. Marvin specializes in the weird shit.

So I find myself in Detroit again for work, and it’s 7 degrees outside. I told my co-workers I was going exploring and that’s when I found Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum (I just like typing that). Last month I wrote a love letter to Detroit, and honestly, our second date was even better. Last time Detroit showed me what a beautiful and dignified woman she is.
Today she told me her dirtiest joke and informed me she likes all my favorite bands. I think I’m in love.

So Marvin’s place is full if weird automatons and strange curiosities from the early 20th century. Yeah there’s a wall of pinball machines and a Pac-Man machine, but the heart of Marvin’s collection circles around animatronic strangeness.

What follows from here is just some of the strange things I found inside Marvin’s. Enjoy.

















So yeah, Michigan. You’re winning me over. You got a lot going for you and anyone sleeping on this state and the Detroit area is stupid. I’m a fan. I love that on a random Wednesday night I can bathe myself in weirdness such as this.
WTF Wednesday indeed. Love y’all!