WEST BLOOMFIELD (WWJ) -- Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum could use some help from the community as it prepares to reopen in a new location.
The beloved and nostalgic Farmington Hills attraction closed on Jan. 5, 2025, after redevelopment plans were approved for the property.
Fast-forward to today, construction is almost finished at the museum's new home at Orchard Mall, at Maple and Orchard Lake Rd. in West Bloomfield.
And as the vintage games and machines begin to be installed, a GoFundMe has been launched with the goal of raising $5,000 to give a boost to the final stages of the move.
A message on the page explains: "While we have secured a new and larger space at Orchard Mall, the journey has been far more difficult than anyone anticipated. Moving hundreds of delicate, irreplaceable machines, upgrading the new space, and protecting Marvin’s extraordinary collection has come with rising costs at every turn. We have truly tried to do this on our own. We stretched every dollar. We absorbed increasing expenses. We kept moving forward even when it felt overwhelming. Now we are in the home stretch. The doors can reopen. The lights can come back on. The laughter can return. We just need a little help to cross the finish line."
>> GoFundMe: Help Marvin’s Museum Reopen
Owner Jeremy Yagoda — Marvin's son — told WWJ Newsradio 950's Luke Sloan that the new space will help the arcade achieve something they've eyed for decades.
"When we first opened as a standalone in 1990, shortly after my dad realized that he wished he'd had more space, but it was just never an option for us where we were at," Yagoda said. "So, I'm excited to be able to do what I believe he really wanted to do from the start."
For those who haven't yet had a chance to check it out, Yagoda describes Marvin’s as “a sensory overload” full of everything from arcade games dating back to the early 1900s to the most modern pinball machines and video games — along with magic billboards, airplane memorabilia, circus memorabilia, advertising memorabilia and more.
Yagoda said, while the reopening has run way over budget a little behind schedule, they still hope to open the doors sometime in April.
Meanwhile, he's so grateful for those who've been showing their support.
"You know, it's humbling, it's overwhelming," Yagoda said. "It's just marvelous to see how much rhis one place has touched people from all over the world.
"It's so exciting to be out there and hear how much it's touched people and to hear how excited people are for us to come back. And you always get to hear a story; whether it was somebody who came on their first date or it was a birthday party... It's really overwhelmingly exciting, and marvelous."