This is part 2 in an ongoing series dedicated to the documentation of my warehouse raid in October, 2008. Read Part 1 HERE.

When we opened the door, the first thing I noticed was the smell! A combination of mildew, mold, and rat pee was overwhelming! Fortunately, my senses were dulled due to the adrenaline coursing through my veins. The door opened directly to the carpeted office area of the warehouse (orange shag was ugly then and remains ugly now) and revealed about 12 games sitting right there. I am immediately excited as I already see a Galaga, a Ms. Pac, and a 720! The office area is sufficiently lit by the daylight entering from the open door, however, the rest of the warehouse is pitch black! In my excitement, I forgot to bring a flashlight, so all I had to light my way was the little LED from my camcorder I brought to docuement the ordeal. In order to get more light in there I needed to open the bay door. What greeted me around the corner was 10 years worth of spider webs. I can honestly say that I have never seen more cobwebs in my entire life!

With the bay doors open, the light from outside swept over dozens of arcade games hidden in almost every possible nook and cranny of the warehouse. I estimate the warehouse to be about 2500 square feet, and besides arcade and pinball games, there were plenty of washing machines and parts (remember, he owned several laundrymats) along with several random objects like metal bed springs. It was obvious from the disarray that I would definitely have my work cut out for me, to say the least.

My initial run-through with the owner there lasted about 15 minutes. While there I noticed the obvious games which highlights included a radarscope, a firefox cockpit, a kickman, and cabaret versions of Pac Man and Centipede. Although excited to see some really cool and rare games, I kept a level head making sure to spot any noticeable damage to the cabinets. First glance revealed some water damage to some games (the full extent I wouldn’t know for some time), and I knew there would be some games that couldn’t be saved when I saw a second Galaga stading about 1/4 shorter than it should have been and leaning.

I didn’t have much time at that moment to spend any considerable length scouring the warehouse as I had to go pickup my daughter from preschool. Fortunately, having established trust with the operator, he presented me with a key to the warehouse to come back at my own accord telling me “Now, before you make me an offer, I want you to really go through everything so you know exactly what you’re getting into…”

…To Be Continued

Tags: video, warehouse raid