Jo Fredell Higgins photo
From the French carrousel, the Italian carosello, and the Spanish carosella “little battle,” the American word carousel or merry-go-round, was an amusement ride usually with horses for seats that were mounted on posts. They moved up and down as if the horses were galloping to the accompaniment of circus music. The carousel was invented by Paul Bussler as an amusement ride. From 1880 to 1930, 5,000 merry-go-rounds were built in America, but only 200 survive and are operational.
The earliest carousels came from early jousting traditions in the 12th Century in Europe and the Middle East. Knights would gallop in a circle while tossing balls from one to another. There was a carousel feast at the Grand Place in Brussels in 1565 to honor the wedding of the Duke Farnese and the Princess Maria of Portugal.
By the 17th Century the balls were dispensed with and the riders had to spear small rings (grab the brass ring) and rip them off. Across Europe the carousel became the amusement at fairgrounds. At the Place du Carrousel in Paris, an early make-believe carousel entertained the children with wooden horses.
By the 18th Century carousels operated at fairs and gatherings in central Europe and England. Heyn in Germany and Bayol in France built those early carousels without platforms. The animals would hang from chains and fly out from the centrifugal force of the spinning mechanism. They often were powered by animals walking in a circle or by people pulling a rope.
The first carousel and amusement ride at Coney Island in New York City was installed at Mrs. Lucy Vanderveer’s Bathing Pavilion in 1876.The Nation’s oldest platform carousel has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a national landmark. It was constructed in 1876 by Charles Dare. The horses are suspended from a center frame which causes the horses to fly as the carousel gains speed. The Charles W.F. Dare Company of Brooklyn, N.Y. made the carousel as well as children’s perambulators and toys and rocking horses.
Since 1986 it has been owned by the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust to prevent it from being dismantled and sold piecemeal to collectors of antique carved horses.
The Crescent Park Looff Carousel in Providence, R.I. still operates in its original location. The 61 horses, one camel and four chariots have been restored and the ride renovated. Charles Looff used this carousel as a showpiece for prospective customers. It is one of the few carousels that feature a ring-arm with steel and brass rings. The original A. Ruth & Sohn organ plays music for the riders. Looff lived in a six-room apartment attached to his carousel shed. It became his showroom to exhibit his latest and most elaborate models.
The Le Galopant Carousel in La Ronde, Montreal was built in 1885 in Bressoux by Belgian craftsmen. It was moved in 1964 to New York City for the World’s Fair. Then it was transported to Montreal for Expo 67. In 2003 the Carousel had a meticulous restoration under the current park ownership of Six Flags. More than $1 Million was spent to refurbish the ride which reopened in a landscaped garden in 2007.
When was the last time you rode on a carousel? There is a carousel in Madison, Wis. that is fun to ride. There is a beautiful one on the lower level of the Fox Valley Mall which can delight children as well as their adult companions. Make it a Springtime resolution to ride the Mall carousel and delight in its history.