Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Despite a petition drive with more than 52,000 signatures, a vintage arcade and museum is slated to be demolished.

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum will be demolished to make way for a redevelopment project that includes a Meijer store. The Farmington Hills City Council voted Monday night to approve a new strip mall on Orchard Lake Road near 14 Mile.

The museum features vintage coin-operated machines, macabre, oddities, unusual nostalgia, and video and arcade games.

It’s operated by Marvin’s son, Jeremy Yagoda, who has vowed to find a way to stay open and move the museum. He took over following his father’s death in 2017 and posted the following on Facebook “Yes, the city voted and the mall will be torn down but from what I understand we have our space till the end of the year. We will be moving, not closing! Where? I do not know as of yet but I hope to stay within the same general area and will keep everyone posted as things progress but again WE ARE NOT CLOSING!”

The online petition at www.change.org was originally initiated last November and starts off with the following quote:

"Wouldn't the world be better off if we took nonsense more seriously?"

Those are said to be the words of the late Marvin Yagoda, who using this philosophy, set out to create the largest collection of animatronic machines and wacky things. Founded in the early 80’s, the museum says it “not only stands as a monument to all things silly and goofy but as a testament to Yagoda's philosophy. This treasure has served the people of Farmington Hills, as well as visitors from around the world, since its conception, and today this iconic museum faces demolition”. The petition encouraged people to act “before we lose this eighth wonder of the world”. A link is provided.