NOVEMBER 30 • 2023 | 37
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ultimately rest on private entities.
As the community rallies in 
support of Marvin’s Marvelous 
Mechanical Museum, an ongoing 
Change.org petition (www.
change.org/p/save-marvin-s-
marvelous-mechanical-museum) 
to save the museum has garnered 
nearly 40,000 signatures at press 
time.
Metro Detroiters say another 
Meijer isn’t necessary, especially 
because there are numerous 
grocery stores (including two 
Meijers) within 15-20 minutes of 
the plaza at 14 Mile and Orchard 
Lake roads.
Others say Marvin’s is a 
landmark that should be 
“protected at all costs.
”
“You’ll always remember 
your first visit to Marvin’s,
” says 
Nathan Silverman, 41, of West 
Bloomfield. Stumbling upon the 
museum accidentally as a child 
while visiting the plaza with his 
parents, Silverman was handed 
four quarters to play games and 
fell in love.
“The nostalgia overwhelmed 
me,
” he says. “The Ninja Turtles 
and the Simpsons games were 
my go-to there, along with 
getting a kick out of some of the 
animatronics.
”
Now, Silverman takes his own 
children to Marvin’s. “We were 
excited to share a cherished 
childhood spot [with them],
” he 
says. “I hope for a compromise 
that will bring happiness to 
everyone, ensuring many more 
memories at Marvin’s will be 
made.
”
Rachel Matzkin-Bridger, 
meanwhile, went on her first 
date with her husband, Todd, 
at Marvin’s when they were 
teenagers at West Bloomfield 
High School.
“There was a machine where 
you made your own silver coin 
with words on them,
” Matzkin-
Bridger, 44, of West Bloomfield, 
recalls. “My brother and I used to 
make them as gifts for my family. 

My Grandma Sarabel and I kept 
the coins in our wallet for good 
luck.
”

A FARMINGTON HILLS ICON
Like many who visited the 
museum in their youth, Matzkin-
Bridger has passed on the trad-
ition to her own children, who 
attended Hillel Day School, and 
shared many fond memories 
together at the local staple.
Still, it’s Marvin Yagoda himself 
who often plays an integral role 
in those memories.
“There was truly no one like 
Marvin,
” Matzkin-Bridger says. 
“He knew everyone and made 
you feel special, like you were his 
favorite customer.
”
Sara Kalish of West Bloomfield, 
whose mother, Dharlene Norris, 
once worked with Marvin 
Yagoda on Detroit Jewish 
News advertising, echoes that 
sentiment.
“Marvin would fill up our 
cups with quarters and we played 
games for what felt like hours,
” 
Kalish says of her childhood. “I 
was so happy to have my own 
daughter’s birthday party there 
last year.
”
There’s a common sentiment 
throughout the Metro Detroit 
community that “they just 
don’t make places like Marvin’s 
anymore.
”
The nearly 40,000 individuals 
who signed the Change.org 
petition are just a fraction of 
locals and visitors alike who want 
to see the museum continue for 
generations to come.
“The building should be 
designated as a historic site,
” one 
signee writes.
“Marvin might not be with us 
anymore, but his dream should 
continue to live on,
” another 
supporter echoes. “Marvin’s 
Marvelous Mechanical Museum 
is a place of joy, wonder and 
curiosity. In a world lacking such 
things, why destroy a place such 
as this?” 

