1964-1965 New York World's Fair Carousel | |
Location | Flushing, Queens, New York |
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Coordinates | 40°44′35″N73°50′57″W / 40.74306°N 73.84917°W |
Built | 1964–1965 |
Architect | William Mangels, Marcus Illions |
NRHP reference No. | 16000038 |
Added to NRHP | February 23, 2016 |
The Flushing Meadows Carousel is a carousel located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens. [1] It contains four rows of figures, including 64 jumping horses, 7 standing horses, 1 menagerie animal (a lion), and 2 chariots. It was created to serve patrons of the 1964 New York World's Fair by combining two earlier carousels, both of which were carved in Coney Island in the first decade of the twentieth century by renowned carver Marcus Illions. During the fair, it stood on a nearby site within the park, and it was moved to its present site in 1968, where it has remained in service ever since. [2]
In 2016 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [3]
The two predecessor carousels were the Feltman's Carousel (1903) and the Stubbman Carousel (1908), both of which were created for amusement operators in Coney Island. 47 horses and the frame are from the Stubbman Carousel, and 24 horses are from the Feltman's Carousel. [2]
While Coney Island has seen resurgence since 2000, it had been busy during the Great Depression and had over twenty carousels spinning at once. The Feltman's Carousel had a restaurant and beer garden that occupied the site where the Luna Park currently sits, approximately between Jones Walk and West 10th Street. The carousel was indoors but faced Surf Avenue. The “Flying Horses” catalogue issued in 1970 by Rol and Jo Summit noted that some of the horses on Feltman's carousel were left over from an earlier Looff carousel that caught fire, probably around 1899 or 1900. [4] Feltman's carousel is regarded by some as Marcus Illions' masterpiece. [5]
The Stubbman Carousel was located at West 6th Street and Surf Avenue. It was part of the Stubbman's Beer Garden, which sat adjacent to the Hotel Eleanor. The site is currently occupied by the New York Aquarium. The Stubbman machine had 64 horses and spun in Stubbman's Beer Garden until 1953, when it was moved near Steeplechase Park and operated as an independent concession. The Summit article said that the Stubbman Carousel was, “commissioned by George and Henry Stubbman for their beer garden. The building housing the merry-go-round was prominently labeled, ‘Hotel Eleanor, Open All Year.’ The carousel itself was a proud addition to the Marcus-Illions stable. Its handsome Louis XIV chariots put the snake-headed, winged dragons of Feltman to shame. Some of the featured carvings were more lifelike and inventive than the Feltman horses, but the overall effect of the rim and central enclosure was less magical; the Stubbman never gained the widespread acclaim and popularity of its predecessor.” [4]
Both carousels were carved by master carousel carver Marcus Illions. He was one of the premier carvers in the Coney Island style of carving. The creatures that came out of this style were known for flamboyance and a flair for the dramatic. They did not focus on the realism in carving, rather, the woodworkers focused on fantasy when creating their horses. The Feltman Carousel was a classic Illions design and was extremely ornate. Carousel historian Frederick Fried, author of the book A Pictorial History of the Carousel, said it was, “by far the greatest America carrousel.”. [6] The Stubbman horses were a bit more subdued and simpler. Both frames were made by famed Coney Island ride manufacturer William F. Mangels. The Stubbman frame was eventually used on the Flushing Meadows Carousel when the two machines were combined. It has another feature rare to many carousels, slots in the floor that allow the horses to tilt outwards as the machine picks up speed.
The Feltman's carousel spun under a few different owners. It ran from 1903 to 1954 as part Feltman's. In 1954 Dewey Albert and Nathan Handwerker bought the property, improved it, and called it Wonderland. Handwerker eventually wanted out of the deal and Albert now called the shots. He decided to build Astroland, the first phase of which opened in 1962. The carousel operated indoors until 1962 and outdoors through the 1963 season when it was packed up to make room for Astroland's 200-foot Astrotower. On January 18, 1964 Albert, in the New York Times article “’Greatest’ Carousel is Stilled at Coney Island”, said he sold it due to, “Economics. That’s the reason. The carrousel took up too much space and didn’t make enough money.” [6]
The American Cavalcade Corporation was formed in order to put a carousel at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Various sources, however, give credit to different people. The website “The 1964-65 New York World’s Fair” [7] credits John S. Rogers with forming The American Cavalcade Corporation, while the New York Times obituary of Greer Marechal, Jr., dating from 1968 credits him with the company's formation. Either way, they and other investors pulled together the company and purchased the Feltman's and Stubbman's Carousels. The original idea was to purchase the Feltman's carousel and re-open that machine, but it was in such bad shape it was quickly realized that it could not run again without a huge investment. Therefore, the Stubbman machine was purchased really for the frame and mechanical componentry. Since both frames were made by Mangels the components were typical and the Feltman creatures could be used on the Stubbman frame when the ride re-opened at the fair. Rogers said that he negotiated with a “large parcel in the Industrial Sector, near the main gate (near IBM), that became available at the last minute plan plans for an amusement park-type exhibit by H.L. Hunt was cancelled.” Rogers had an agreement with the S&H Green Stamp store, who would provide funding as the host, but that never came to fruition. This led to the carousel making its owners little money at the fair. [7]
The carousel opened in early July offering rides at 15 cents to patrons of the World's Fair. The article “Galloping Ghost Revived for Fair” in the July 3, 1964 edition of The New York Times said: “The merry-go-round is in Carousel Park, in the fair’s Lake Amusement Area. It opens today in a setting designed to give the boardwalk atmosphere – with an actual boardwalk and small food stands.”” [6] The boardwalk area was owned by some of the same ownership group as the carousel (incorporated as the American Carousel Corporation); they used the concessions to earn supplementary income.
According to Edward Dunne, who was involved in the project, Robert Moses had always wanted the carousel to operate permanently at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Three years after the fair ended the carousel was moved to its current home in the park, adjacent to the zoo.
On May 7, 2012, NY Carousel Entertainment was awarded the contract to operate both the Flushing Meadows and Forest Park Carousels. The company made cosmetic repairs to the machine, repainting it, sanding and staining the historic wooden floor, and adding new fencing to the entire area. It also added an additional family ride at the carousel, the Choo Choo, a Rio Grande Train. [8]
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park is a public park in the northern part of Queens in New York City, New York, U.S. It is bounded by I-678 on the east, Grand Central Parkway on the west, Flushing Bay on the north, and Union Turnpike on the south. Flushing Meadows–Corona Park is the fourth-largest public park in New York City, with a total area of 897 acres (363 ha).
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to the north and includes the subsection of Sea Gate on its west. More broadly, the Coney Island peninsula consists of Coney Island proper, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. This was formerly the westernmost of the Outer Barrier islands on the southern shore of Long Island, but in the early 20th century it became a peninsula, connected to the rest of Long Island by land fill.
A carousel or carrousel, merry-go-round (international), Galloper (international) or roundabout is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The "seats" are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gears to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music.
Steeplechase Park was an amusement park that operated in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, United States, from 1897 to 1964. Steeplechase Park was created by the entrepreneur George C. Tilyou as the first of the three large amusement parks built on Coney Island, the other two being Luna Park (1903) and Dreamland (1904). Of the three, Steeplechase was the longest-lasting, running for 67 years.
The Cyclone, also called the Coney Island Cyclone, is a wooden roller coaster at Luna Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Vernon Keenan, it opened to the public on June 26, 1927. The roller coaster is on a plot of land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street. The Cyclone reaches a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and has a total track length of 2,640 feet (800 m), with a maximum height of 85 feet (26 m).
The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island. Situated in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell, the structure consists of a 250-foot-tall (76 m), 170-short-ton (150 t) open-frame, steel parachute tower. Twelve cantilever steel arms radiate from the top of the tower; when the ride was in operation, each arm supported a parachute attached to a lift rope and a set of guide cables. Riders were belted into a two-person canvas seat, lifted to the top, and dropped. The parachute and shock absorbers at the bottom would slow their descent.
William F. Mangels was an amusement manufacturer and inventor. He worked at Coney Island and was a major player in the development of American amusement parks at the start of the 20th century. In addition to manufacturing carousels and inventing rides, including The Whip, he wrote a book titled The Outdoor Amusement Industry: From Earliest Times to the Present (ISBN 0848820029). Mangels is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Astroland was a 3.1-acre (1.3 ha) amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that opened in 1962. It was located at 1000 Surf Avenue on the boardwalk. It ceased operations on September 7, 2008.
Charles I. D. Looff was a Danish master carver and builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. Looff built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. During his lifetime, he built over 40 carousels, several amusements parks, numerous roller coasters and Ferris wheels, and built California's famous Santa Monica Pier. He became famous for creating the unique Coney Island style of carousel carving.
Rockaways' Playland was an amusement park that operated from 1902 to 1987 in Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York City. Bounded by Beach 97th and Beach 98th Streets between Rockaway Beach Boulevard and the Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk, Rockaways' Playland was created in 1902 by roller coaster designer LaMarcus Adna Thompson. By 1903 a ferry dock was added not far from the park, making it more convenient to reach than some of the competing amusement parks. The park was sold in 1927 to Robert Katlin, who added amenities such as a gym and swimming pool, and the following year to A. Joseph Geist, who achieved greater success than the previous owners. Between 1928 and 1970, Rockaways' Playland was extremely successful, drawing 175 million visitors. It closed in 1987 due to a sharp increase in the price of insurance.
The Silver Star Carousel is a carousel located in the Star Mall area at Six Flags Over Texas. It opened at the park on April 20, 1963.
Luna Park is an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It opened on May 29, 2010, at the site of Astroland, an amusement park that had been in operation from 1962 to 2008, and Dreamland, which operated at the same site for the 2009 season. It was named after the original 1903 Luna Park which operated until 1944 on a site just north of the current park's 1000 Surf Avenue location.
A Carousel for Missoula is a volunteer-built, hand-carved carousel in Missoula, Montana, located on the Clark Fork River in Missoula's downtown Caras Park within walking distance of the historic Wilma Theatre, Jeannette Rankin Peace Center and Osprey baseball stadium. The carousel is accompanied by a volunteer-built park, Dragon Hollow.
The Forest Park Carousel is a historic carousel at Forest Park in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, U.S. The carousel, one of two known surviving carousels built by Daniel Carl Muller, was built c. 1903 and contains 52 figures and its original band organ. Originally located in Dracut, Massachusetts, the carousel was relocated to Forest Park in 1972, replacing an earlier carousel on the site. The ride, operated by NY Carousel since 2012, is part of a seasonal amusement center called Forest Park Carousel Amusement Village. The Forest Park Carousel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 and has been a New York City designated landmark since 2013.
Marcus Charles Illions was a master carver of wooden carousel horses and other figures at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City in the early 20th century. The New York Times referred to him as "the Michelangelo of carousel carvers".
Charles Feltman (1841–1910) was a German-American restaurateur. He is one of several claimed inventors of the hot dog. In 1871, Feltman began building his restaurant complex. It achieved its heyday in the 1920s, serving nearly 5,250,000 people a year, being a large restaurant complex with several restaurants, two bars, a beer garden, a famous carousel, and other attractions, and offering many types of food beyond hot dogs.
Dreamland was an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that operated at the site of the defunct Astroland park for the 2009 season. It was replaced with a new Luna Park the following year.
The B&B Carousell is a historic carousel at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City. It was built by Coney Island-based manufacturer William F. Mangels c. 1906–1909, with wooden horses carved by Marcus Illions. The carousel has been relocated and refurbished several times over its history. The B&B Carousell has been located in Luna Park since 2013.
Fort George Amusement Park was a trolley park and amusement park that operated in the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan, New York City, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It occupied an area between 190th and 192nd Streets east of Amsterdam Avenue, within present-day Highbridge Park.
A boardwalk is a promenade along a beach or waterfront. In North America, and particularly in the United States, many waterfront commercial boardwalks have become so successful as tourist attractions that the simple wooden pathways have been replaced by esplanades made of concrete, brick or other construction, sometimes with a wooden façade on the surface. An entertainment boardwalk often contains an amusement park, casinos, or hotels on a pier-like structure. One of the earliest such boardwalks was designed in New Jersey and opened June 26, 1870, in Atlantic City, and one of the longest is Mazatlán's Malecón, at 13 miles (21 km) of oceanfront boardwalk.