Century Old Dentzel Carousel

by Kathy White

Title

Century Old Dentzel Carousel

Artist

Kathy White

Medium

Photograph - Photography--greeting Cards Or Notes Are Cheaper By The Dozen!

Description

This "Century Old Dentzel Carousel" is located in Coolidge Park at Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is almost 120 years old and absolutely exquisite! This Gustav Dentzel two-level carousel came to life at the Dentzel factory in Philadelphia in 1895. One of the early machines, when it first began to spin in Rochester, New York it was not electrified, nor did it have jumping horses. In 1915 it was sent back to the factory to be extensively reworked. On its second debut it sported an inner level that was six inches higher than the outside row floor to make room for the mechanisms of two rows of jumping animals. It had also been refitted with a commutator and hundreds of glittering electric lights. Later on, It was saved from complete ruin by a master wood carver named Bud Ellis and a devoted team of craftspeople and volunteers at his studio "Horsing Around" located near Chattanooga. The carousel provides a delightful old-fashioned experience with 52 whimsical hand carved animals, a calliope band organ, and ornate gold leaf benches. The carousel's last home was in Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia from 1966 to 1978 where, in bad condition, it was dismantled and sold. The city was unable to locate enough money to maintain the aging mechanism and animals. The tarnished and tattered leftovers were thrown into an old truck trailer and put up for sale. According to the article I found and the operators I talked to in Chattanooga, an Atlanta man named Charlie Walker realized its potential, rescued the stripped remains and put them into storage. For decades the old machine lay waiting to be discovered by just the right person. The tangle of wood, canvas and metal continued to slowly deteriorate, being soiled by pigeons, chewed by mice, it required a unique person to recognize its promise and have courage and determination enough to rescue it.
That man was Bud Ellis, who came along in the 1980's, fell in love with it, and spent the next ten years lovingly performing meticulous restoration and rebuilding. Bud started an organization called "Friends of the Carousel". With their help, he trained carvers, recruited an army of volunteers, secured funding and laid claim to a spectacular location for the restored machine in a specially developed park right on the banks of the Tennessee River. The majestic heirloom Bud and the local folks worked so hard on, whirls and dances to old-fashioned tunes played on a hand-built Stinson band organ. The sound is amazing and there are magical animals of almost every description that are beautifully restored and brightly colored dancing around. Kids of ALL AGES, which include adults, such as ME, jump aboard regularly, to ride the carousel and for a moment in time, it carries them back to their childhood! The hand-made treasure should not be in danger of ruin this go-round as it is housed in a sparkling glass dome building topped by a gilded weather vane in the midst of a beautiful city park. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing and photographing this carousel and of course, riding it a few times too!

Uploaded

April 9th, 2013

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