Dentzel Carousel Company

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G.A. Dentzel Carousel Company
FormerlyG.A. Dentzel, Steam and Horsepower Caroussell Builder
IndustryCarousel Builder
Founded1867 (1867) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
FounderGustav Dentzel
Defunct1928 (1928)
SuccessorPhiladelphia Toboggan Coasters
Headquarters
Philadelphia
,
United States
Key people
Gustav Dentzel, William Dentzel
ProductsCarousels

The G.A. Dentzel Company was an American builder of carousels in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

History[]

Its founder, Gustav Dentzel, had immigrated to the United States in 1860, from Germany. Having carved carousels for his father before immigrating he opened a cabinet making shop on Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia. He soon tired of the cabinet making business and decided to try his hand at building a small portable carousel that he could travel with around the country. After finding that people had a great enthusiasm for his carousel he decided to go into the carousel building business full-time in 1867, hiring other woodworkers who had also emigrated from Europe.[1][2][3]

His son William took over the business after Gustav's death in 1909, and continued making carousels until 1928, with employees such as master-carvers Salvatore "Cherni" Cernigliaro and Daniel Muller. After William's death, Muller went on to form his own carousel company, while the Dentzel equipment and remaining stock were sold to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.[1][4][5]

In mid-2017, an estimate indicated that there may be 150 of the Dentzel units in existence. At that time, a model from 1907, with 52 hand-carved animals, was sold by Centreville Amusement Park in Toronto, Ontario, to the city of Carmel, Indiana. The selling price was an estimated CAD $3 million, approximately US $2.25 million.[6] The ride will open in 2018 or 2019 as part of a multi-year downtown redevelopment project.[7]

Operating Carousels (in USA)[]

Ride Name Year Built Location City Figures History
King Arthur Carrousel 1922 Disneyland Anaheim, California 68 Jumpers, 1 Chariot Sunnyside Park (1922-1954)
Merry-Go-Round 1912 Knott's Berry Farm Buena Park, California 18 Jumpers, 10 Standing, 24 Menagerie, 2 Chariots Hersheypark (1912-1936)
Brady Park (1936-1955)
Merry-Go-Round 1907 Castle Park Riverside, California 18 Jumpers, 12 Standing, 20 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Hersheypark (1907-????)
Knott's Berry Farm (1950s-1984)
Dentzel Carousel 1921 San Francisco Zoo San Francisco, California 24 Jumpers, 12 Standing, 16 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Pacific City Amusement Park (1921-1925)
Broad Ripple Park Carousel 1917 The Children's Museum of Indianapolis Indianapolis, Indiana 17 Jumpers, 14 Standing, 11 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Broad Ripple Park (1917-1956)
Parks Department Indianapolis (1956-1969)
Spencer Park Dentzel Carousel 1902 Riverside Park Logansport, Indiana 32 Standing, 11 Menagerie, 3 Chariot Robison Park (1902-1919)
Spencer Park (1919-1962)
Carousel at Glen Echo Park 1921 Glen Echo Park Glen Echo, Maryland 28 Jumpers, 12 Standing, 12 Menagerie, 2 Chariot
Chesapeake Carousel 1905 Watkins Regional Park Upper Marlboro, Maryland 15 Jumpers, 16 Standing, 13 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Chesapeake Beach (1905-1972)
Highland Park Dentzel Carousel 1904 Highland Park Meridian, Mississippi 20 Standing, 8 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904)
St. Louis Carousel 1921 Faust County Park Chesterfield, Missouri 46 Jumpers, 16 Standing, 4 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Forest Park Highlands (1929-1963)
Storage (1963-1965)
Sylvan Springs Park (1965-1980)
Storage (1980-1987)
Antique Carousel 1898 Canobie Lake Park Salem, New Hampshire 24 Jumpers, 19 Standing, 3 Menagerie, 2 Chariot
Dr. Floyd L. Moreland Carousel 1910 Seaside Heights Seaside Heights, New Jersey 35 Jumpers, 18 Standing, 5 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Island Beach Park (1910-1928)
Casino Pier (1932-2015)
Carousel 1905 Ontario Beach Park Rochester, New York 22 Jumpers, 11 Standing, 19 Menagerie, 2 Chariot
Carousel 1905 Burlington City Park Burlington, North Carolina 16 Jumpers, 10 Standing, 20 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Locust Point (????-1924)
Forest Park (1924-1948)
Pullen Park Carousel 1912 Pullen Park Raleigh, North Carolina 19 Jumpers, 10 Standing, 23 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Bloomsbury Park (1912-1915)
Kiddy Kingdom Carousel 1925 Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio 27 Jumpers, 14 Standing, 11 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Hunting Park-Germantown (1936-1968)
Albany Carousel 1909 Albany Historic Carousel and Museum (Dentzel mechanism only) Albany, Oregon 32 Jumpers, 16 Standing 2 Chariot Downtown Albany (2017)
Antique Carousel 1921 Dorney Park Allentown, Pennsylvania 50 Jumpers, 12 Standing, 4 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Exposition Park (1921-1941)

Lake Lansing Amusement Center (Pine Lake) (1941-1971)
Cedar Point (1971-1994)

Stoner Carousel 1924 Stoner Carousel Association Lancaster, Pennsylvania 25 Jumpers, 8 Standing, 15 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Rocky Springs Park (1901-1923)
Rocky Springs Park (1924-1983)
Lake Lansing Park (1983-1987)
Dollywood (1990-1999)
Storage (1999-present)
Weona Park Carousel 1900 Weona Park Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania 34 Standing, 10 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Original location unknown (1900-1924)
Woodside Park Carousel 1902 Please Touch Museum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 24 Jumpers, 16 Standing, 12 Menagerie, 2 Chariot Woodside Amusement Park (1902-1955)
Rockaways' Playland (1956-1961)
Storage (1961-1962)
St. John Terrell's Music Circus (1963-1966)
Storage (Smithsonian Institution) (1966-2005)
Restoration (2005-2008)
Grand Carousel 1926 Kennywood Park West Mifflin, Pennsylvania 50 Jumpers, 14 Standing, 2 Menagerie, 4 Chariot Commissioned by U.S. Government in 1926 for Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Celebration, but not finished in time and purchased by Kennywood.
Memphis Grand Carousel 1909 Children's Museum of Memphis Memphis, Tennessee 32 Jumpers, 16 Standing 2 Chariot Forest Park Amusement Park (1909-1923)
Mid-South Fairgrounds (1923-1974)
Storage (1974-1976)
Libertyland (1976-2005)
Storage and restoration (2005-2017)
Silver Star Carousel 1926 Six Flags Over Texas Arlington, Texas 50 Jumpers, 16 Standing 2 Chariot Rockaways' Playland (1926-1963)
Dentzel Carousel 1923 Fair Park Dallas, Texas 50 Jumpers, 16 Standing 2 Chariot Carsonia Park (1923-1950)

Gallery[]

  • The Woodside Amusement Park Carousel, now at the Please Touch Museum

  • Lead horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel

  • Maker's mark on the lead horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel

  • Row of giraffes on the Broad Ripple Park Carousel

  • Horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel

  • Giraffe at the Pullen Park Carousel

  • Zebra at Weona Park Carousel

  • Tiger at the Pullen Park Carousel

References[]

  1. ^ a b "DENTZEL CAROUSEL COMPANY". DENTZEL CAROUSEL COMPANY.
  2. ^ "Carousel History". casscountycarousel.com. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  3. ^ Hix, Lisa (26 August 2013). "Where Have the Carousel Animals Gone?". Collectors Weekly. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  4. ^ Labov, William; Browne, Ray Broadus; Browne, Pat (2001). The Guide to United States Popular Culture. ISBN 9780879728212.
  5. ^ "Gustav and William Dentzel Co". CarouselHistory.com. March 3, 2015.
  6. ^ "Toronto's 110-year old carousel on Centre Island sold for $3 million". thestar.com. July 19, 2017.
  7. ^ Sikich, Chris. "Carmel mayor plans a $101 million building spree, including a carousel". The Indianapolis Star.

External links[]

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