Photo by Chris DiGiamo

We suggest that you head to the bank today to pick up several rolls of quarters, as this weekend may be the last chance to visit The National Pinball Museum in the District. Director of Operations Tiffani Huskey announced yesterday that museum will be shutter its doors and mothball its machines after the holiday in preparation for its move to a new, undisclosed location in Baltimore. The Museum is offering free admission on Labor Day.

The summer has been rough for the museum, which saw its doors nearly close in May after Vornado Realty Trust became Georgetown Park’s new owners, but stay open due to a last minute temporary extension until Labor Day. Board member VerNitta Tyson seems to hint a other reasons as to why the museum will leave D.C.:

We simply can’t afford the high market rents in the DC area, and we haven’t had any luck in convincing realtors, community leaders or other organizations to help us out. The funny thing is we continue to receive offers for free space every day from places like New York and Arizona, but nothing from our own community – even though there are millions of square feet of commercial real estate that are sitting empty. We’re still hoping to find space to host a small exhibit to keep the Museum alive in DC. But, for the foreseeable future we’ll be making our home in Baltimore, which has been extremely receptive to the Museum.

While it’s easy to say that one can find cheap, or free, space in the entire states of Arizona and New York, the high rents of staying in the city, let alone Georgetown, is understandable. Luckily, the new space in Baltimore, which has plenty of large spaces leftover from the city’s previous industries, will be able to house all the machines. They are looking for volunteers to help with the move.