Metropolitan

The Metropolitan, designed by Fred McClellan and manufactured by Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company (PAMCO) in 1933, is a rare, single-player, widebody example of early pure-mechanical (PM) pinball — predating both electro-mechanical and flipper-equipped games entirely. Its playfield is interchangeable with that of PAMCO's 1933 'Masterpiece'.

As a pure mechanical game, play relies on the steel ball (7/8 inch in diameter) interacting with the playfield's mechanical obstacles rather than any flippers or electrical components, which had not yet been invented. The playfield is finished in dark walnut, and the cabinet is solid gumwood, finished in satin ebony with chromium trimmings, measuring an advertised 60 inches long and 30 inches wide. According to the Encyclopedia of Pinball, the earliest production units played roughly, a problem addressed in November 1933 with the release of the 'New Metropolitan'; the two known cabinet/side-art variations may correspond to this update.

As one of the earliest known widebody machines, the Metropolitan offers a window into pinball's pre-electromechanical era and the industry's earliest design experiments.