# City Hall Flips Out

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2013-05-27  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/cityhall.html

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## Analysis

Pacific Pinball Museum launched an exhibit at Alameda City Hall from May 28 to July 1, 2013, featuring five classic pinball machines from the 1970s available for free play daily from noon to 1:30pm. The exhibit also included the museum's Lil' Ju Ju mobile pinball unit (a converted 1947 travel trailer with five machines) parked outside City Hall for the opening day.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Five machines from pinball's golden age were set up inside Alameda City Hall for free public play — _Direct factual statement about the exhibit setup and machines_
- [HIGH] The exhibit ran from May 28 to July 1, 2013, open Monday to Thursday, noon to 1:30pm daily — _Specific dates and hours provided in article_
- [HIGH] Surf Champ was a Visible Pinball Machine with transparent cabinet and playfield made of Perspex — _Direct description of the machine's construction_
- [HIGH] Lil' Ju Ju is a converted 1947 Spartan Manor Travel Trailer fitted with five pinball machines — _Specific description of the mobile unit_

### Notable Quotes

> "Starting tomorrow 28th May, 2013, five machines from pinball's golden age will be made available for free play for ninety minutes each day from midday until 1:30pm."
> — **Article author/Pinball News**, Opening paragraph
> _Establishes the core details of the exhibit timing and access_

> "The latter machine is in the form of the Visible Pinball Machine - a transparent game with the cabinet, backbox and playfield made out of Perspex to show the inner workings."
> — **Article author/Pinball News**, Machine description section
> _Highlights a unique educational feature of the exhibit_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Pacific Pinball Museum | organization | Organizer of the City Hall exhibit; nonprofit museum in Alameda, California with collection of historic pinball machines |
| Alameda City Hall | event | Location of the pinball exhibit from May 28 to July 1, 2013 |
| Fireball | game | Bally 1971 pinball machine featured in the exhibit |
| Gulfstream | game | Williams 1973 pinball machine featured in the exhibit |
| Pro Football | game | Gottlieb 1973 pinball machine featured in the exhibit |
| Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy | game | Bally 1975 pinball machine featured in the exhibit |
| Surf Champ | game | Gottlieb 1976 pinball machine; featured as a Visible Pinball Machine with transparent Perspex construction |
| Lil' Ju Ju | product | Pacific Pinball Museum's mobile pinball unit; converted 1947 Spartan Manor Travel Trailer containing five pinball machines |
| Bally | company | Pinball manufacturer of machines featured in exhibit (Fireball, Capt. Fantastic) |
| Williams | company | Pinball manufacturer of machines featured in exhibit (Gulfstream) |
| Gottlieb | company | Pinball manufacturer of machines featured in exhibit (Pro Football, Surf Champ) |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Community outreach and public engagement, Classic/golden age pinball machines, Museum exhibits and educational initiatives
- **Secondary:** Pinball preservation and restoration, Mobile pinball units and experiential marketing

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Tone is upbeat and celebratory about bringing pinball to the public; framed as an achievement and community benefit

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Museum using mobile unit (Lil' Ju Ju) and physical exhibits to increase accessibility to pinball for general public (confidence: high) — Converted travel trailer with five machines plus five machines in City Hall for free public play
- **[community_signal]** Pacific Pinball Museum demonstrating public education commitment by bringing classic machines to city government venue (confidence: high) — Museum setting up free public exhibit at City Hall with historic machines from 1970s

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## Transcript

Date: 27th May, 2013

The latest exhibit from the Pacific Pinball Museum sees them taking pinball to the heart of local governance, as they set up a selection of machines inside City Hall in their home city of Alameda, California.

Starting tomorrow 28th May, 2013, five machines from pinball's golden age will be made available for free play for ninety minutes each day from midday until 1:30pm.

The machines are; Fireball - Bally 1971, Gulfstream - Williams 1973, Pro Football - Gottlieb 1973, Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - Bally 1975, and Surf Champ - Gottlieb 1976.

The latter machine is in the form of the Visible Pinball Machine - a transparent game with the cabinet, backbox and playfield made out of Perspex to show the inner workings.

The Visible Pinball Machine

In addition, to mark the opening of the exhibit the Museum's Lil' Ju Ju - a converted 1947 Spartan Manor Travel Trailer fitted with five pinballs - will be parked in front of City Hall today and open from 11:30am until 1:30pm, doubling the number of machines available to play for free to ten.

The exhibit at City Hall in Alameda runs until 1st July and is open Monday to Thursday inclusive.

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_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 402b0b19-46bd-4c42-acd9-7e4fa05bf46e*