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CONTACT: Tiffani Huskey
Director of Operations
[email protected]
202.337.1110
EXTENDED PLAY FOR NATIONAL PINBALL MUSEUM
Washington, DC, September 2, 2011
Labor Day is the last chance for people to visit National Pinball Museum inside The Shops at Georgetown Park. The Museum is being forced to move only months after opening to make way for planned renovations at the mall. After months of trying to find a new facility in the DC area with no luck, the Museum struck gold in Baltimore. Museum Founder, David Silverman says, "It took a long time to find a great space. We were hoping that the mall would allow us to stay here for a few more weeks, while we finalized our lease and prepared the space so that we could avoid having to be down for a long time." A recent request for a second extension that would have allowed the Museum to stay in place for eight weeks was denied by mall owners, Vornado Realty Trust. So, after the last coin drops on Monday, the Museum will pack up its collection and head up the beltway. The Museum is expected to reopen in a couple of months in Charm City. But, as a grand final gesture of appreciation for the DC community, the Museum is offering free admission on Labor Day.
Board member, VerNitta Tyson reflects on the non-profit's struggle with leaving DC, "It was a really difficult decision for us, but, the fact is we are a small, non-profit with ambitious dreams of enriching the lives of children and adults in our community through unique cultural, educational and job development programs. We simply can't afford the high market rents in the DC area, and we haven't had any luck in convincing realtors, community leaders or other organizations to help us out. The funny thing is we continue to receive offers for free space every day from places like New York and Arizona, but nothing from our own community – even though there are millions of square feet of commercial real estate that are sitting empty. We're still hoping to find space to host a small exhibit to keep the Museum alive in DC. But, for the foreseeable future we'll be making our home in Baltimore, which has been extremely receptive to the Museum. We just hope the hundreds of people that have been so supportive of us will travel to Baltimore to visit the new Museum."
Located at 3222 M Street NW, National Pinball Museum has over 200 machines currently on exhibit in their galleries. Visitors are transported through time in a Jurassic-themed life-size playfield and a history walk that depicts the first 140 years of pinball. In the Pay-to-Play exhibit, visitors can play 40 machines ranging from classic, vintage woodrail games to modern solid state machines. The Museum hours for this final weekend are: Saturday, 10AM to 10PM; Sunday, Noon to 6PM and Labor Day, Noon to 6PM. Regular admission is $3 (children under age 9 are admitted free) with games at $.75 per play. The Museum is offering free admission on Labor Day.
For more information about the Museum and its collection, visit www.nationalpinballmuseum.org. |
