Rumors started flying around New York City blogs last week that Chinatown Fair, one of the last traditional arcades left in the city, was closing. Those rumors became reality yesterday when Chinatown Fair locked its doors for good at 8 Mott Street yesterday at 12:48 am. It was in business since at least the 50s, first across the street and then at its current location for almost 30 years. Some games were removed before the last token was dropped and the space was nearly empty by yesterday afternoon. The end of Chinatown Fair unfolded with players battling each other in fight games until the very end.
Samuel Palmer, the proprietor, kept busy the whole night, emptying the change machines and making sure things ran smooth until the end. Here he is in his office, taping up a ripped dollar bill...
Players came in steadily throughout the night. One regular told me he traveled from Staten Island to play...
Kids got their game on at their favorite fighting games before their were no games left...
And Chinatown Fair wasn't just for the young'uns...
Some posed for pictures with their favorite games, before they were gone for good. By 11:00 pm on Saturday night, some arcades had already been removed...
As the end drew near, employees began cleaning up the place...
Samuel put the call out around 12:35 am. "Guys," he yelled, "we're closing." The glow of machines stayed on until the very end...
At exactly 12:48 am on Sunday, after the last gamer left, Samuel's helper locked the doors of Chinatown Fair for good...
And the games played themselves...
On Sunday afternoon, a middle aged man stopped by with his daughter to visit the arcade, having read the rumors last week about a potential closing. Unfortunately, he was a few hours too late...
The removal of games was in full swing by this time, with pieces of arcades being used as temporary space holders in the street, awaiting vehicles to help with the removal of machines...
Other games sat inside, solemn and silent as they awaited their removal to parts unknown...
By late yesterday afternoon, the space was nearly empty...
On Saturday night, while I was photographing Samuel in his office, I told him to smile. This is Sam smiling...
More on Chinatown Fair: Last year, Kotaku examined one of the reasons Chinatown Fair was so popular, reporting on the safe environment that developed for its large and vibrant LBGT customer base. "Teens feel safe to be openly gay here," Gabriel Cortez said.
A blogger at NearSay visited recently and shared a detailed and lengthy post with a ton of photos.
Scouting New York has a wonderful post on the chicken that used to inhabit a corner machine in decades past.
And the Chinatown Fair Arcade Archival Project has sprung up, "to share all the memories of the Chinatown Fair arcade on a multimedia platform."
Here's a video tour of Chinatown Fair from 2007...
Related:
- The Hidden Graffiti Of Chinatown
- Visiting St. Patrick's Old Cathedral School
- T-Bone Grocery Store On Mott St Gets Boarded Up
- Chatham Square's Contribution To Gentrification Row Nears Completion
- Lovestruck Graffiti Sprouts All Over Chinatown In Lower East Side
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