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Jim Ratsoy's Garage
Categories: Local Flavour Automotive Car Dealers Arts & Entertainment Museums Local Flavour, Car Dealers, Museums [Edit]
12391 Gilbert RdRichmond, BC V7E
(604) 273-1001
One review for Jim Ratsoy's Garage
1 review in English
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Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
5/2/2009 3 photos
* Read on for amazing things stored away in a non-descript looking private residence's backyard garage. I'm still in awe! *
If you ever get the chance to visit Jim Ratsoy's private garage at his residence I encourage you to jump at the opportunity. Jump! Seriously! What a collection!
I was lucky enough to visit today, and it was so much more than I ever would have expected!
He's got over 90 antique cars that were produced as early as 1906 stored away in a tightly packed "garage" that has a checkered white and black floor. Some amazingly beautiful pieces.
But that is not all. He also is an avid collector of antique juke boxes, player pianos, bar games, music boxes, phonographs, pinball machines, gasoline pumps, and random gas station signs.
Basically if it ever was involved in a gas station, bar, or roadside truck stop it seems fair game for his collection!
One of the highlights were some incredible player pianos unlike any I have ever seen before - they didn't just have the piano component. The bottom had been carved out and replaced with glass and in there there were symbols, lighting, hand organs, and a variety of other sounds that were perfectly triggered by the player scrolls.
Exploring the old bar games like the guess your weight machine, the mechanical claw machine to grab candy, the dice machines, etc., etc. while listening to a player piano or a juke box (they alternated nicely) really was like going through a time warp! There was a bit of a carnival feel to it all.
I had to keep reminding myself this is a private collection and not a museum. Wow.
I can't begin to tell you how extensive this collection is. What a treasure trove. There were some elderly people visiting as well, and they were reminiscing about the good old days while having all of the gadgets and ancient electronic innovations trigger memories of when they were first released way back when!
He has a website up with some pictures of the collection (although some of the photos look a bit old as the garage is much more packed than it looks in those pictures!). Check out the link above to get a feel for this place, and like I said - if you get to visit - jump at the opportunity!Listed in: Vancouver Local Flavour, Cars
