Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, consists of an arcade and a large collection of coin-operated machines such as: animatronics, games, and more.  

The founder, Marvin Yagoda began collecting vintage arcade machines and more in the 1960s. In the 1980s, it was opened in the former Tally Hall shopping center. It was in 1990 that the museum opened in its current location in Orchard Lake Plaza.  

In 2017, Marvin Yagoda passed away, leaving the museum to his son, Jeremy Yagoda.  

However, The Farmington Hills Planning Commission voted on November 16th in favor of a redevelopment plan which would have Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum replaced by a Meijer. Jeremy Yagoda has spoken about this on social media. He says that, for now, the museum will still be available. Though, this does not stop the possibility of it being taken down in the future.  

Eventually, the Farmington Hills City Council will vote on whether to approve the demolition of the museum.  

Many members of the community have denounced the redevelopment plan and are rallying to save the museum. Currently, there is a petition on Change.org which, as of writing this, has nearly reached 50,000 signatures. (Link to the petition below) The community members are also planning to discuss this with commissioners and participate in future votes in hopes of saving Marvin’s.

There are also fans of the museum who learned about it through the band, Tally Hall. This band has gained popularity over the years, but their debut album shares a name with the museum. Therefore, fans of the band have also joined the efforts to save the museum from demolition.  

Here is the link to the petition to those who are interested in it.

https://www.change.org/p/save-marvin-s-marvelous-mechanical-museum?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_37741876_en-US%3A9&recruiter=1054483694&recruited_by_id=77c260e0-6902-11ea-98bd-0985a517e22f&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&share_bandit_exp=initial-37741876-en-US&fbclid=IwAR3FC_vnazPxWMZr6iRY9_P_DRYa2-7ucImYnTyZdq-IUp297QgOwu4fu2Q

Links to the sources used

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/11/27/is-marvins-marvelous-mechanical-museum-on-monday-agenda-for-farmington-hills-city-council/

https://www.metrotimes.com/news/petition-launched-to-save-marvins-marvelous-mechanical-museum-from-demolition-34640564