Classic Mode

Automatic Age

Issue: 1928 April

th e a u t o m a t ic a g e
V o l . 4
CHICAGO, APRIL, 1928
No. 9
Amusement Arcades
Popular and Profitable
Tips on Location, Arrangement, Management
By WM. GENT, Cleveland
What is the secret of the penny
^cade’s growing popularity?
There are numerous reasons: The
Penny arcade offers a distinctive type
°f amusement which is interesting,
educational and varied. Here the pa­
eons obtain a lot of entertainment
^0r a trifling cost. It offers some­
thing which everyone can afford, and
^hile rich and poor alike come here
for a type of entertainment found no­
where else, the penny arcade appeals
*° the majority, or, as some term it,
masses. The general public is
V°ur customer.
The business is conducted on a
^gher plane; owners are catering to
spending class by making their
arcades more attractive. They are
adding new and novel machines, at­
tractive signs o f Neon, Sunray and
other types of illumination. They are
*eeping all equipment attractively
ecorated, and floors free from dust
aild litter. They are training at­
tendants to pay proper attention and
resPect to patrons. In brief, they are
E tching every detail of manage-
and studying the public to
^omote and retain its patronage.
Location
Selecting a location for an amuse­
ment arcade requires good judgment
as to local conditions. The ideal lo-
© International Arcade Museum
Wm. Gent
cation is on a crowded thoroughfare
for to be successful, you must cater
to the masses, not the classes. Look
for a neighborhood patronized by
such persons and locate on the side
of the street where the crowds are
thickest. This should be in a fairly
low rent district where you will not
be forced to pay the greater portion
o f your profits to the landlord.
Planning the Building
A wide entrance is very important
and very essential. While fifteen feet
http://www.arcade-museum.com/
T he A
will
serve
the
purpose,
thirty feet is much
The entrance
to
nut, gum and confection vendors, etc.
more desirable.
In the center o f the front, place nov­
be free from
elty machines such as the Gypsy
Queen or Grandm other’s Predictions
should
posts or pillars.
twenty
A ge
u t o m a t ic
These are ser.'ous
obstacles because loafer.; will lean on
cr others.
them and your entrance should
Kne with various machines.
not
have such objectionable features.
A s to deptii, fifty feet will do, but
it is
depth,
obvious that
the more
the
room
greater the
fo r
patrons
and equipment.
cashier’s
booth
should
be
placed just back o f the center group
o f machines and so arranged so
not to be obscured from view from
the entrance.
A n r.ttract've front, such as is il­
lustrated, is a great asset.
The
Then continue down the
N ote the
five attractions featured on this front
The Orchestrion or automatic pi­
ano
or
other
musical
instrument
should be placed near the entrance
Musical Automatons
— the Free Admission sign, Novelty
Electric Shooting Gallery, the Whirl-
O-Ball bowling game, the Penny Ar­
cade sign and the illuminated revolv­
ing lantern above. Pedestrians at a
glance know what you are featuring
and the Free Admission sign tempts
them to enter. Several groups of
lights illuminate the pictorial sign
work and side walk, and attractive
and adequate lighting in both exte­
rior and interior is very essential.
Arrangement of Equipment
On each side of the entrance place
picture machines, also novelty ma­
chines such as fortune tellers, pea-
© International Arcade Museum
as the music is a drawing power
which helps attract people to enter
the Arcade.
Machines such as the name plate*
card printers, perfume machines, Pen'
cil printers, electric shockers or any
machines which attract crowds should
be placed where there is s u f f i c i e n t
room for crowds to use them with'
out congesting the entrance.
Athletic machines o f every de'
scription, including the W h i r l - O - B ^
game, should be placed in the re®*'
In our arcade at Euclid Bead 1
Park, we always plan to add
machines each season. At the beg'11'
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