Atlanta, Pinball, and the Third Place
At lunch today Bob was telling us about what a great pool hall Mr. Cue’s II is. As it happens, Jessica and I stopped in there this past weekend to check for pinball (they had one: Terminator 3). They have a huge spread of pool tables, all of which are apparently in excellent condition. He told a story about how he used to play pool a couple times a month with his buddy. They’d go to the pool hall in Buckhead and play a few games, drink a few beers. Then his friend got a pool table at home and the games moved there. It killed the whole thing. Playing pool at home just wasn’t the same as going out to a pool hall.
This got me thinking of how great it would be to have a place to go play pinball that wasn’t somebody’s house. A real third place, where you could hang out for a few hours (or more) a week, shoot the breeze, drink Guinness Draught, pop quarters into pinball machines and compete for the high score. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with playing pinball at home or at a friend’s house — it’s one of the best things on earth — but how great would it be to have a place like this to visit with friends at?
(I realize that the majority of my readership probably finds my interest in pinball to be bizarrely fanatical (I would agree) and furthermore really has no interest in playing all that much pinball, but trust me: there are others like me.)
Georgia is a terrible place for this. If we lived in/around the Twin Cities I could go to SS Billiards, or Lyons, Colorado’s Lyons Classic Pinball, but pinball just isn’t that big in these parts. The best local options as far as I can tell are Startime Entertainment in Roswell, or Midtown’s The Highlander, which have 5 and 3 pinball machines, respectively. All Sterns from the past 5 years, and (at The Highlander) all with the sound turned down to a whisper. (Chap would also comment at this point on the quality of bar service available at The Highlander.)
Still at lunch, I began to wonder what it would take to open a pinball/pool/bar joint like the one I want to patronize. Glenn opined that it would have to be non-profit — you couldn’t go into it expecting to make any money at all, and I think he’s right. You’d have to man it with volunteers (see: The Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas), and likely use donated/loaned pins. And find low rent, probably in a warehouse. There is a decent pinball community in Atlanta, but I don’t know if it’s enough to support something like this.
At this point, someone who will go nameless for now suggested: “If you mix it with a titty bar, I’d be there!” He/she then imitated one of the, er, waitresses, “Can I interest you in a game of Gorgar?” I then began to imagine a stage area, where a live re-enactment of the Gorgar backglass (and other racy pinball art scenes) could take place. Something for the guys and the gals! (Hah!)
I think the “titty bar” version (”Knockers‘ Pinball”?) would have to wait (indefinitely), but I remain intrigued by the idea of a non-profit, club-powered Atlanta pinball third place. Anybody have some cheap real estate not in a flood plain?