# 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 in Alameda, California organized a public pinball exhibit at City Hall from May 28 to July 1, 2013, featuring five vintage machines from the 1970s available for free play during lunch hours, plus a mobile pinball unit (Lil' Ju Ju) housed in a converted travel trailer.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Five vintage pinball machines from the golden age were set up in Alameda City Hall for free play from May 28 to July 1, 2013, available daily from noon to 1:30pm — _Article states machines available starting May 28, 2013, for 90 minutes daily midday-1:30pm, running until July 1_
- [HIGH] The machines included Fireball (Bally 1971), Gulfstream (Williams 1973), Pro-Football (Gottlieb 1973), Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (Bally 1975), and Surf Champ (Gottlieb 1976) — _Article explicitly lists the five machines and their manufacturers/years_
- [HIGH] One of the machines was a Visible Pinball Machine—a transparent cabinet made of Perspex showing internal workings — _Article identifies Surf Champ as the Visible Pinball Machine and describes its construction_
- [HIGH] Pacific Pinball Museum operates Lil' Ju Ju, a mobile pinball unit housed in a converted 1947 Spartan Manor Travel Trailer fitted with five pinball machines — _Article describes Lil' Ju Ju as a converted travel trailer with five pinballs parked at City Hall for opening day_

### Notable Quotes

> "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."
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, opening paragraph
> _Establishes the civic/community-engagement nature of the exhibit_

> "five machines from pinball's golden age will be made available for free play for ninety minutes each day from midday until 1:30pm"
> — **[name withheld pending review]**, paragraph 2
> _Specifies access terms and availability window for the public_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Pacific Pinball Museum | organization | Nonprofit museum based in Alameda, California, organizing the City Hall pinball exhibit and operating the Lil' Ju Ju mobile unit |
| Alameda, California | organization | City where Pacific Pinball Museum is located; host city for the City Hall exhibit |
| Fireball | game | Bally 1971 vintage pinball machine featured in the City Hall exhibit |
| Gulfstream | game | Williams 1973 vintage pinball machine featured in the City Hall exhibit |
| Pro-Football | game | Gottlieb 1973 vintage pinball machine featured in the City Hall exhibit |
| Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy | game | Bally 1975 vintage pinball machine featured in the City Hall exhibit |
| Surf Champ | game | Gottlieb 1976 vintage pinball machine featured in the City Hall exhibit; displayed as the Visible Pinball Machine with transparent Perspex cabinet |
| Lil' Ju Ju | product | Mobile pinball unit operated by Pacific Pinball Museum, housed in a converted 1947 Spartan Manor Travel Trailer containing five pinball machines |
| Bally | company | Vintage pinball manufacturer; produced Fireball (1971) and Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975) |
| Williams | company | Vintage pinball manufacturer; produced Gulfstream (1973) |
| Gottlieb | company | Vintage pinball manufacturer; produced Pro Football (1973) and Surf Champ (1976) |

### Signals

- **[venue_signal]** Pacific Pinball Museum expands reach by installing machines in public civic space (City Hall) to introduce pinball to broader non-enthusiast audience during working hours (confidence: high) — Five machines offered free play at Alameda City Hall from May 28-July 1, 2013, during lunch hours (noon-1:30pm)
- **[content_signal]** Museum curates themed historical exhibit showcasing golden age pinball machines (1971-1976) with emphasis on playability and educational appeal through transparent Perspex machine (confidence: high) — Selection of five machines spanning 1971-1976; inclusion of Visible Pinball Machine with transparent cabinet 'to show the inner workings'
- **[historical_signal]** Pacific Pinball Museum maintains and actively exhibits working vintage pinball machines from the 1970s, contributing to preservation and public appreciation of pinball history (confidence: high) — Five playable machines from 1971-1976 in functional condition, plus mobile unit; all available for free public play
- **[operational_signal]** Pacific Pinball Museum operates a mobile pinball venue (Lil' Ju Ju) using a converted travel trailer, enabling off-site activations and community outreach (confidence: high) — Lil' Ju Ju parked at City Hall opening day, operating 11:30am-1:30pm; housed in converted 1947 Spartan Manor Travel Trailer with five machines
- **[community_signal]** Civic institution (Alameda City Hall) welcomes pinball as cultural attraction, suggesting growing mainstream acceptance and cultural legitimacy of pinball in the region (confidence: high) — Pacific Pinball Museum able to secure City Hall space for multi-week exhibit with free public access during business hours

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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 2026-08-04 | Item ID: 402b0b19-46bd-4c42-acd9-7e4fa05bf46e*