Drone Footage Soars Over Thousands of Pinball Machines

The Pacific Pinball Museum Annex in Alameda, California, is a dream location for pinball enthusiasts. Founded in 2004, the non-profit organization is all aboutOpens in a new tab the promotion and preservation of pinball. The museum is home to over 90 pinball machines from the 1940s to present day. And it’s always looking to add more to the collection.

Now, thanks to some incredible footage from Eddie Codel, we have a close look at the pinball machines waiting in the museum’s wings. Codel used a drone to capture footage of thousands of machines that are currently under repair in the Annex. We first heard about this thanks toOpens in a new tab Laughing SquidOpens in a new tab, who shared a link to Codel’s footageOpens in a new tab.

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Codel is the founder of the Flying Robot International Film Festival. He previously traveled to the Pacific Pinball Museum Annex back in 2016. According to the museum website, it’s currently closed due to COVID-19. Hopefully when they reopen, even more of these beautiful pinball machines will make it into the rotation.

Vintage pinball machines found at the Pacific Pinball Museum Annex in California.Somethin’ or Other Tour

I’ve never been to the museum in Alameda, but I really love pinball. I grew up playing games with my dad, and have gone to many an arcade bar in my adulthood. There’s something so enchanting about these games; they feel like relics of the past, but they really aren’t. They are still in production, evoking imagery of new films and properties.

Watching Codel’s footage brings me right back to pinball sessions with my dad and friends. And digging through other videos and photos of the Pacific Pinball Museum Annex bumps it to the top of my list of “I want to go to there” spots in the US post-pandemic. Hopefully one day soon we can all cramp into a small space and play pinball side-by-side. Until then, we have this beautiful drone footage to transport us.