GASTONIA, N.C. — Ready to take a trip down memory lane?
If you grew up with classic pinball and arcade games, there's a new place to stroll in Gastonia: the Classic Arcade and Pinball Museum, located along Union Road in the south part of town. For about $15, visitors can play nearly 80 games that span the decades, from the mid-60s through some of today's latest offerings.
Jim Connolly, the museum's owner, says he wants visitors to enjoy their time as they level up and game on.
"I always enjoy watching other people play," he told WCNC Charlotte photojournalist Donald Fountain, "almost as much as I like playing them myself."
Connolly said there's still room for more machines. Collecting the classic games is something that just happened to him naturally.
"I had a small collection at home, and when I decided to do this, I just started acquiring games," he said.
While some of Connolly's games are newer, he says don't expect games like Fortnite or Fall Guy to be popping up.
"I try to do games that you can't do on a PlayStation, things like pinball or driving games," he said. "You just can't do that at home."
Carrie Morrison brought her sons to the museum during a visit, and she said the experience took her back in time.
"I feel like I'm 12 again," she said. "This is wonderful."
Morrison said it's always nice to get out and about, but connecting with her kids over the museum's offerings makes it all the more special.
"If I have any opportunity to do something with my kids outside of the house, we definitely want to do it," she said. "It's good to see that I can do something, they can do something on my level, that I can actually compete against. We are very competitive as a family."
Chuck McCarter and his son David also visited. Both had fun going head-to-head and playing competitively.
"It's both satisfying and really fun to play," said David.
"I might be enjoying it a little more than he is," added Chuck.
The chance for father and son to connect over games both classic and modern is something Chuck said he really valued since it came to him naturally.
"[David] likes games and I've always been a gamer," he said, "so for us to kind of be able to sit down and play something like this together in an atmosphere I grew up in is pretty cool."
Morrison's thoughts were similar.
"This is really their first opportunity to see what we did growing up, and it's kind of like a blast from the past for them," she said.
"This is like nostalgia for me," said McCarter, "so to come in here and see all these that I kind of grew up with, hearing all the sights and sounds and do all those things -- it's been pretty fun."
Connolly says visitors will be able to make those nostalgic trips all while experiencing something different regularly; the games in the museum are never the same.
"The place will be different every month you come in," he said. "You're gonna see something you hadn't seen before. Come on, play some games, and have a good time."
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. The hours per day are as follows:
- Wednesday: 11 a.m. through 9 p.m.
- Thursday: 11 a.m. through 9 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m. through 10 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. through 10 p.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m. through 9 p.m.