Playland-Not-at-the-Beach Museum of Fun Opens in El Cerrtio

“For a penny, Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, an es back to a day in 1930 when the great interactive Museum of Fun will be Sells-Floto Circus rolled into town. visitors can hand entertaining and amusing guests all This astonishing exhibit features thou- crank early movies year long starting in June in El Cerrito. sands of hand carved miniature figures Richard Tuck, the museum’s self-pro- that realistically depict the Circus’s on a “Mutoscope”, claimed “Master of Fun”, grew up in side-show, menagerie of exotic ani- see the original the Bay Area and went to Whitney’s mals, the three-ring big-top (complete Playland and the as a child. with flying trapeze artists, tigers and “Fan Dance” and He has always been fascinated by clowns), dressing rooms, cook house, visit “A Sailor’s amusement parks, magic, side shows, dining tent, horse farm and veterinary carnivals and circuses. “It’s a shame and blacksmith shop. It is one of the Paradise” at the that today’s kids don’t get a chance to greatest examples of American folk art “Knotty Peek”.” witness the earlier entertainments of a ever created. Carved by Don Marcks, bygone age,” Tuck muses. “Playland- a life-long circus enthusiast, and his Not-at-the-Beach is a Museum of Fun, father Isaac, the circus took over 50 allowing kids of all ages (from 5 to years to complete. The project was 105) to enjoy the same things their originally intended to provide Don, great grandparents laughed at a hun- who suffered from scarlet fever as a dred years ago.” child, with a creative outlet and pas- time. The Playland-Not-at-the-Beach The “Circus World” display area reach- exhibit of this incredible work of art Playland-not-at-the-beach | community n includes circus posters from over 100 years ago. Big Dipper, or eating their favorite foods at the Hot House”, says artist Dan Fontes. One hundred years of rare artifacts and arcade attractions are presented in the “Penny Arcade” sec- The Coney Island Pinball Museum and its neighbor- tion of the museum. Here, for a penny, visitors can ing Pinball Alley and Laff in the Dark sections of hand crank early movies on a “Mutoscope”, see the Playland-Not-at-the-Beach present visitors with the original “Fan Dance” and visit “A Sailor’s Paradise” opportunity to play seven decades of vintage pinball at the “Knotty Peek”. The museum even provides machines dating from the early wood rails of the pennies. 1930’s to the first electronic versions of the games right up through the modern “Lord of the Rings.” The “ Carnival” exhibit area features 40 years of games from Whitney’s Playland, ’s The Bygone San Francisco section of the Museum much-loved , and other parks invites visitors to step back into the Year 1939 around the country including the Long Beach Pike when the Golden Gate International Exposition was and Knott’s Berry Farm. This area is brightened and on Treasure Island. Artifacts adorn the walls and a illuminated by a magnificent 17-foot long mural by mural by noted artist John Aaron wraps around a Leo Mora titled “Playland”. Original signage and three-dimensional version of the City by the Bay. photographs add to the enjoyment of this lively, In another corner, original stereoscopic machines colorful area. display 3-D pictures of the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Playland’s Funhouse is beautifully commemorated in the Museum’s Laughing Sal Theater, where Original woolen bathing suits are just some of the award-winning artist Charlie Moran has built a life- artifacts on exhibit in the Sutro’s Showcase section like miniature replica of the Funhouse complete of Playland-Not-at-the-Beach. Vintage tickets, pro- with Laughing Sal, the famous Walking Charleys, grams and a multitude of photographs transport the the Maze of Mirrors and the Joy Wheel where gen- viewer back to a golden age when San Franciscans erations of visitors spun off its slippery spinning could swim, dive, and then be amused and enter- surface into cushioned walls. Miniature replicas of tained for just 20 cents. the Limbo Dark Ride and the rickety old Big Dipper wooden rollercoaster add to the ambiance and nos- Throughout Playland-Not-at-the-Beach the spirit talgia of this area. of a Museum of Fun pervades. Visitors can even change the seasons of the year by stepping into In the Board Walk area of Playland Not-at-the- Halloween-themed “Dark Mystery”, or meet the 200 Beach the work of muralists Dan Fontes and elves who inhabit “Santa’s Village.” Ed Cassel depicts the heyday of San Francisco’s beachfront entertainment district, from the famed Playland-Not-at-the-Beach is a 501(c) (3) educa- original Cliff House and Sutro Baths to Whitney’s tional and charitable organization. Donations to Playland at the Beach. Called “A Playland for All,” the Museum support its many activities including this panoramic mural measuring 32 feet long by programs for senior citizens, at-risk children and 10 feet tall along one wall alone wraps each visitor youth, the economically disadvantaged, and the in wonderful memories as it continues around the physically and developmentally challenged. room and provides viewers with an opportunity “to create for themselves something of a little time For more information about Playland-Not-at-the- machine – sliding down the Giant Slide, watching Beach, visit the Museum’s website at the waves crash beneath the Cliff House, riding the www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org.