Old church in Duquesne now dwelling to retro-style arcade

Old-school players and ex-pinball gamers have a brand new place to play some basic arcade video games, because the Church Arcade in Duquesne is about to open its doorways.

As quickly as you stroll into the Church Arcade, you’re surrounded by lights and sounds that, for some, evoke nice reminiscences of once they had Pac-Man fever or had been self-proclaimed pinball wizards.

“I think there’s something to be said about nostalgia. You can only play Fortnite so much,” stated Mike Hovraluck, co-owner of the Church Arcade.

Housed within the previous Holy Name Catholic Church, the arcade is full of classic video arcade video games, together with the classics like Pac-Man, in addition to shooter and racing video games.

“I think we have something like 130 (games), last I checked,” Hovraluck stated. “[We have] about 30 or so pinball machines. We’re going to push that to 35 to 40.”

“We’re always going to be circulating games in and out. I don’t know if we’ll ever stop collecting, so there’s always going to be something new coming in,” co-owner Mike Hough stated.

The arcade is the dream of the members of the Pittsburgh Arcade Collective.

“If we’re not keeping them alive and getting people interested, these are going to go back to sitting in someone’s basement or garage,” Hovraluck stated.

One may surprise why a enterprise would decide an previous Catholic church for the placement. The reply, based on the homeowners, was, why not.

“It just fit the need, and again, it’s nice to save an architecturally sweet building like this,” Hovraluck stated.

Plus, you will not fear about raiding your mother’s purse for cash or a couple of dollars.

“No worries for quarters, no worries for tokens. Everything is one fee. Depending on the day, $20 or $25 is generally what we’re looking at,” Hovraluck stated.

The Church Arcade will host a two-day grand opening on South 1st Street, scheduled for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. More details about the arcade may be discovered here.

In: