Inside one of the last pinball factories in the world

As I walked into Stern Pinball’s modest facility in Melrose Park, Illinois shortly before Christmas last year, a loud buzzer went off. Dozens of workers streamed past, heading toward a catering cart stationed nearby. It’s break time.

This is all that remains of an amusement empire in Chicago last century, an empire that included brands like Williams, Bally, Gottlieb, and Midway, among others. It’s an empire that helped build the arcade era. Apart from Stern, everyone else has long since left the pinball business — or gone out of business altogether.

Be warned — the linked article is full of hi-res images. They’re gorgeous but will hog your browser while loading. Anyways, I have a handful of memories of being in the arcade, playing Space Invaders while my Dad worked the flippers on the pinball machines. It’d be awesome-spectacular if Stern had tours.

Read all about Stern Pinball, Inc.

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