th e a u t o m a t ic a g e
Vol. 2
C H ICAG O, J A N U A R Y , 1927
No. 6
Williams—
Shows H ow to Run
Clean Arcade
Many leading citizens of Asbury
*«i'k first came to the Queen City on
excursion, but A. M. Williams,
I^oneer of the shore, rode into town,
a lad of 16, on his bicycle. A lively
sense of humor, tireless energy which
.as not burned out with the years,
Immense tolerance for his fellow be-
and a never failing enthusiasm
° r work carried him rapidly for
ward.
His ambition was to be a show-
^an. Self confidence and a few hun-
J ’ed dollars loaned him by Banker
«enry C. Winsor when disaster
hreatened his first venture were the
Assets with which he set out in stren-
u°us pursuit of success. He found it
Asbury Park, where he settled
°Wn to the business of entertaining
People after visiting every city of
c°nsequence in the United States.
His upward career, however, was
n°t without discouragement, defeats
dnd opposition. Hotel keepers cried
° ut against “ cheap amusements,”
^'nisters protested against “ dark’’'
movie houses as “ dens of iniquity”
firemen complained about the
m apparatus “ fire hazard.” But in
‘"'Pite of all the opposition, cheap
Hrr>usements proved one of the best
Paying things in town, declares W il-
jams, who less than a year ago sold
to the
e>nbach interests for a lively con-
f 1 eration.
His guiding star has
een “ popular demands at popular
ices,” his business ci’eed— give the
0 Ter fellow a little the best of the
© International Arcade Museum
bargain, if only one per cent.
Photos While You W ait
His first business venture in A s
bury Park was making ten cent
automatic tintype pictures on but
tons. On the Boone’s garage site,
the young Brooklyn photographer
produced comic likenesses of his pa
trons while they waited— sometimes
900 a day. His penny arcade, which
a shrewd friend described as “ some
little business under cover,” was
movable, and before Williams settled
down he pitched his tent in every
bright industrial town from coast to
coast. N ot everybody could afford
to buy a phonograph, but few could
not spend a nickle to hear their
favorite tune in the coin-slot ma
chines when they came to town.
Starting out with 10 or 12 ma
chines, Williams gradually increased
the number to 75 and then 100. It
was hard work, sometimes all-night
work when the machines had to be
packed for shipping before pulling
up stakes early the following morn
ing. When the town was a “frost”
or profits fell to ,$8.50- a week as
recorded in one instance by Williams
in the accounts he systematically
kept for 35 years, he moved on. As
time passed, location rents increased,
traveling expenses became prohibi
tive and the pace began to
tell.
Twenty-five years ago therefore a
permanent location was established
in the Palace merry-go-round, and
Williams gave up chasing after fairs,
carnivals and expositions,
married
http://www.arcade-museum.com/