Tucked into a warehouse at Pier 45, the Musée Mécanique is a private collection of over 300 antique arcade machines, mechanical curiosities, and coin-operated oddities dating back to the 1880s. Entry is free -- you just pay per game, usually a quarter or fifty cents.
The star attraction is Laffing Sal, a famously creepy six-foot laughing automaton that once greeted visitors at Playland at the Beach. There are also fortune-telling machines, hand-cranked peep shows, miniature carnival dioramas, and items crafted by San Quentin inmates from toothpicks. It is delightfully weird and a perfect antidote to a foggy afternoon at the Wharf.