Peter Hirschberg's Private Arcade

If I ever start to obsessively collect things, I'll make a conscious effort to choose something small like vacuum tubes or flash memory cards. I definitely won't choose arcade machines, because it would take only a year or two to completely fill my basement.

Peter Hirschberg and family recently faced this very problem (you might remember his brilliant LEDhead handheld game emulator and Vertibird simulator from past posts). While he could have restricted himself to a collection of vintage Mattel handhelds, Hirschberg started buying and restoring classic arcade machines from the 1980s.

His collection eventually overran the basement and his kids' former playroom. In a desperate quest to reclaim the house and avoid cocktail game cabinets in the dining room, Peter and his wife Julie did what any average Generation-X couple would do -- they built a separate 2-story 2400 square foot building and dubbed it Luna City Arcade. Heck, it even had its own blog to document the construction process.

Luna City features authentic "arcade style" carpet and lighting, along with literally hundreds of vintage gaming posters from Hirschberg's collection. It certainly qualifies as one of the largest private collections in the USA, and I can imagine losing myself in this place for hours on end.

The collection now numbers almost 70 arcade standups including must-have classics like Asteroids, Defender, Pac-Man, Tron, Galaga and eight pinball machines including Gottlieb's magnificent Black Hole. I am in awe and can only imagine the number of hours invested into restoring and maintaining these magnificent machines.

Peter Hirschberg's private arcade

Comments

HOLY $#!^! That's really something but does he have Rip Off? Is there cig burns on the cabinets? Skoal spit on the carpet? I mean how "real" is it lol.

[Jeff]

Am I the only one who finds it sad to see a full-fledged arcade with no one playing the games? It feels so empty with no kids trying to beat each other's high score... There are lights and machines all over, but where are all the people?

Where's the life?

I dislike empty places like this... it feels so ... post-apocalyptic. It has a feel of "what once was" to it. Sort of sad.

[Bohus]

Then again, we don't know the kinds of great parties they might have! Peter has kids, I wonder how they feel about the games? Is it an awesome place to hang out and play their retro favorites, or is it just "that weird thing that dad likes..."?

[CPFace]

I have to agree, this is the sort of thing that would only be worth owning if you could invite people in who would appreciate it.

I happen to know someone with a magnificent collection of pinball machines. It feels somewhat strange to walk into his lair and play them alone, but the place takes on a completely different air at parties when you get groups of people playing. Sadly, many machines from the late 1970s and early 1980s are now too elderly to withstand heavy use.

Here's a video of Peter's arcade with people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTXgQE7XcXg

[Nash Rambler]

If you place your finger over my comment here, you can actually feel me seething with jealousy. C'mon guys, all practicality aside, you can't tell me none of you ever had the "my own private aracade" dream. But you are right Jeff; what the Luna City Arcade needs to feel complete is a 12-year old with a jean jacket and a pack of Red's rolled up in his sleeve, hanging around. Not playing anything, just scopin' the babes.

[anon]

those black lights are going to fade the sidecabinet art in short order, you may want to have him move them underneath the pinballs!

[JayP]

This is the second thing I do after I win the lotto.

[Chris]

Whoa! This is crazy! I like this "wood-looking"- house. Looks like a usual garage.. ;)

[Parmenides]

I actually know Peter and have been to his arcade twice, including the most recent Game Day. He normally does not have the machines on and only plays them a couple of times a month just to make sure they still work and to get the buzz.

He also prefers having people in there playing the games, so that is why he hosts 'game days'. It was like transporting back to the good ol' days on the last game day. 40-50 people in there, playing games, trying to beat everyone's high score. Good times.