SEATTLE - Before finger flips and tilting screens in the palm of your hand, there was the plastic button press and the well-timed wrist launch.
"Pinball is kind of magic," said Charlie Martin of Seattle Pinball Museum.
Martin's magic is now playing in the International District.
"What we're presenting is a physical history of pinball from 1936 through 1994," he said.
Hearing Martin talk about his flipper fascination is like listening a lover of fine art. Art that can rack up thousands of points if you have the right touch, or a game over if you don't.
"To know that you can make it go where you want, given your skill level, it's really kind of fun," said Martin.
There are 15 sources of fun on exhibit and more to come, but none of that modern stuff.
"Pinball machines are still being made today, but there's only one manufacturer," said Martin. "I personally prefer the older ones that you can jiggle them and juggle them and physically have an effect on what the ball does."
The museum is one of 10 arts-related businesses getting three months of free rent. It's all part of an initiative called Storefronts Seattle, working to revitalize the International District and Pioneer Square.
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