page_title: Funspot Family Fun Center
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Funspot Family Fun Center / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Red school house at Funspot
context_page_description: Funspot Family Entertainment Center is an arcade which features one of the largest collections of late-1970s to mid-1980s games in the world. It is located in the village of Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire, United States. Founded in 1952 by Bob Lawton, Funspot includes over 500 video games, pinball machines, and ticket redemption machines; an indoor miniature golf course; 20-lane ten-pin and candlepin bowling; cash bingo; a restaurant; a tavern; and several other attractions on its grounds.
  Funspot was officially named the "Largest Arcade in the World" by Guinness World Records at the 10th Annual International Classic Video Game and Pinball Tournament, held from May 29 through June 1, 2008.
  Originally called the Weirs Sports Center, and located across the street from the Weirs Beach boardwalk, Funspot moved in 1964 to its current home on Route 3. There are 300 games from the 1970s and 1980s on the floor at any one time in the American Classic Arcade Museum section of Funspot, with another 100 housed in a warehouse.
  Funspot hosts several other businesses and attractions on its grounds.
context_section_description: Funspot first opened as the Weirs Sports Center on June 27, 1952, in the top floor of Tarlson's Arcade building across from the Weirs Beach boardwalk. It was opened by then 21-year-old Bob Lawton as an indoor miniature golf course and penny arcade with $750 USD borrowed from his grandmother. On the first day the center was open it made $36.60 from miniature golf admission and $5.60 from selling soft drinks. A round of 9-hole mini-golf cost 35 cents.
  In 1964, Funspot was created when Lawton bought 21 acres (8.5 ha) of land, the same land where Funspot now sits, and moved his entertainment venture there. The first attraction built was a miniature golf course and an adjacent building. This course came to be known as the "Landmarks of New Hampshire" miniature golf course. A small clubhouse was also built next to the course, and in 1965 it was expanded into a 4,000-square-foot (370 m²) billiards room. This was the first of several additions to Funspot.
  In 1971, Funspot opened the first of two theme parks on its Route 3 campus. Named "Indian Village", it was described by the president of the American Indian Lore Association, Chief Red Dawn, in 1973 as, "A village of life-size habitats - reconstructed from historical blueprints, representing major Indian cultural areas of North America." Buildings ranged from a "Nookta Whaling Shrine," to a "Mandan Earth lodge," to "Plains Indians Teepees." Indian Village closed in 1983.
  A second theme park, Storybook Forest, was opened in 1976. This park was themed after children's nursery rhymes and fairy tales. One of the main attractions in Storybook Forest was "Gingerbread Man Pond", a pond created in the shape of a running gingerbread man, with two large buttons. The buttons housed Robinson Crusoe's hut and cave. There were also multiple fiberglass sculptures of story characters that are still seen throughout the children's areas of Funspot. When Storybook Forest closed, all of the attractions were removed with the exception of the red school house.
  In 1980, Funspot switched from quarters to tokens. Funspot expanded over the years, opening satellite locations in Wolfeboro, Concord, Dover, and Amherst in New Hampshire, as well as South Portland, Maine, and Port Richey, Florida. By the mid-1990s these satellite locations had closed one at a time, with the location in Florida being the last to close. It was transformed into another arcade, Stop N' Play, which is still open. The bowling center, featuring both ten-pin and candlepin, was added to Funspot in 1988, and the bingo hall was added in 1996.
  Funspot was named "World's Largest Arcade" by Guinness World Records in 2008. One attraction in the building, the American Classic Arcade Museum, has approximately 180 pre-1988 video games and pinball machines. In 2009, the outdoor minigolf course was moved indoors to the third floor and is now open year-round. Bob Lawton said, "When we opened it in 1964, we were the only ones in the Lakes Region that had minigolf, but then several opened up. Last year, we decided we wouldn't close it and we were going to keep it. It's historic; the buildings are fantastic."
caption: The school house from the former Storybook Forest theme park
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