\Founded By TC DiBella And Has A Large Collection of Pinball Machines Ranging From 1937 To 2016 That Guests Can Play
In just three years the Asheville Pinball Museum has become one of the biggest attractions in the area, with over 40 pinball machines that guests can marvel at and even play. Sometimes over 300 people come through the doors in a day, a big jump from back when owner TC DiBella had just three pinball machines in his basement a little over three years ago.
After a movie night where all of his friends had a blast playing pinball in his basement, a guest sent DiBella a link to a pinball museum in Seattle and a light bulb went off. DiBella felt it would be huge in Asheville, North Carolina.
“Asheville is [become] a tremendous tourist destination for the past decade,” he notes. “It brings in a lot of people…mainly adults. People 25 and up [remember playing] pinball machines at arcades before the internet. My thinking was [that] something was taken away from the public but they never realized it. There are no arcades anymore. We don't advertise at all. People just walk by, see us and they walk through the door. Their eyes get all big.”
When the museum first opened there were 27 pinball machines, most of which DiBella’s friend had fixed. Now there are 40 on the floor and 50 in reserve, ranging from 1937 to 2016. Many people may be surprised to hear that pinball machines are still being made despite a lack of arcades (In fact, a Batman pinball machine was just revealed this week, based on the 1960s television show) but pinball machine fans like DiBella are not shocked.
“The kids that played pinball [in the original arcades] are now over 30 years old. They have the money to put pinball machines in their house,” said DiBella, who noted that the machines are around $5,000 each. “A lot of people have moved away from buying a sports car to buying something they can use every day. Pinball machines last and last and last.”
DiBella just turned 50 years old. He had played pinball in the 1980s while in junior high. As a teenager he also had a passion for video games. And he still loves both. When the store is a bit slow, he'll simply stop and play some games. What was it that made DiBella such a huge fan of the pinball machine?
“It was a social thing. All of your friends were there. Your parents would drop you off at the skating rink or the arcade, give you $20 and you were good for the night,” said DiBella. “I was also into athletics so I liked the competitiveness of trying to get the high score. But it was great to have a soda, a bag of chips, [and to] get away from mom and dad.”
Despite a love for pinball and video games, DiBella went to school in North Carolina with the intentions of becoming a coach. While student-teaching he realized he loved being in the classroom as a teacher, interacting with the students. He ended up teaching for 22 years before opening the pinball museum.
Since its humble beginnings the Asheville Pinball Museum has had a brag-worthy collection of pinball machines. One favorite is the Addams Family machine from the early 1990s. It was highly produced and became one of the most popular machines of all time. Everyone who comes in the doors remembers it.
“We try to have a lot of classic games people would remember,” DiBella said. “But we also want historical ones and rare ones. We have very rare, unique pinball machines, like the Bonzai Run machine. We have the first machine with the DMD display, signed by the designer who happened to stumble in to the museum a few weeks ago.”
When they first started collecting pinball machines, DiBella and his wife would take whatever pinball machine they could find, no matter how cheap or broken. But now they are a bit more selective. They also receive a lot of calls – now that they're more well-known – with people who want to sell pinball machines to them.
“This past summer I got a Lord of the Rings machine, a Jurassic Park one and a Star Wars machine this way. They're top machines in excellent condition,” he said.
With growing popularity though comes a few critics. Some people don't feel the Asheville Pinball Museum is a museum because the machines are playable. To that, DiBella says that there are signs and photos all around the machines with information on how they work and their history.
“On the electro-mechanicals – classic pinball machines with bells – I replaced the wood with plexiglass,” he continued, “so you can see the back – the gears turning – as people are playing it.”
But the biggest draw to the pinball museum?
“You can't do this anywhere else.”
The Asheville Pinball Museum is indeed a museum. But it's also a giant arcade. It's a place for people to remember their childhood, grab a bag of chips and a can of soda and beat their old high scores.
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
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