Lighthouse Point Carousel

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Lighthouse Point Carousel
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Lighthouse Point Carousel in 2008
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LocationLighthouse Point Park, Lighthouse Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°14′54″N72°54′12″W / 41.24833°N 72.90333°W / 41.24833; -72.90333 Coordinates: 41°14′54″N72°54′12″W / 41.24833°N 72.90333°W / 41.24833; -72.90333
Arealess than one acre
Built1916 (1916)
Architectural styleRenaissance
NRHP reference # 83003578 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 15, 1983

The Lighthouse Point Carousel is located in the East Shore section of New Haven, Connecticut in Lighthouse Point Park. The carousel was built about 1905, and is one of a shrinking number of early 20th-century carousels left in the state, featuring the carvings of Charles Looff and Charles Carmel. The carousel and its 1916 building were together listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 15, 1983. [1]

New Haven, Connecticut City in Connecticut, United States

New Haven is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, and is part of the New York metropolitan area. With a population of 129,779 as determined by the 2010 United States Census, it is the second-largest city in Connecticut after Bridgeport. New Haven is the principal municipality of Greater New Haven, which had a total population of 862,477 in 2010.

Connecticut state of the United States of America

Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the United States. As of the 2010 Census, it has the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index (0.962), and median household income in the United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital is Hartford and its most populous city is Bridgeport. It is part of New England, although portions of it are often grouped with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-state area. The state is named for the Connecticut River which approximately bisects the state. The word "Connecticut" is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for "long tidal river".

Lighthouse Point Park

Lighthouse Point Park is a park in the city of New Haven, Connecticut that is operated as a New Haven city park. The 82-acre park is located at the eastern point of New Haven Harbor in the East Shore neighborhood, and affords a view of Downtown New Haven.

Contents

Description and history

The Lighthouse Point Carousel is located in New Haven's Lighthouse Point Park, near the southeastern top of the city on Long Island Sound. It is located in a rectangular building, about 200 feet (61 m) inland from the Five Mile Point Light which gives the park its name. The building is about 150 by 90 feet (46 m × 27 m) in size, with a high-ceilinged square section housing the carousel, and a lower-roofed extension that houses concessions. The building has Renaissance Revival styling, with tall window bays articulated by pilasters, and round-arch window bays surrounding the carousel section. The roof above the carousel is topped by a monitor with clerestory windows. [2]

Long Island Sound A tidal estuary on the east coast of the United States

Long Island Sound is a tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, lying between the eastern shores of The Bronx, New York City, southern Westchester County, and Connecticut to the north, and the North Shore of Long Island, to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches 110 miles (177 km) from the East River in New York City, along the North Shore of Long Island, to Block Island Sound. A mix of freshwater from tributaries and saltwater from the ocean, Long Island Sound is 21 miles (34 km) at its widest point and varies in depth from 65 to 230 feet.

Five Mile Point Light lighthouse in Connecticut, United States

Five Mile Point Light, also known as Five Mile Point Lighthouse or Old New Haven Harbor Lighthouse, is a U.S. lighthouse in Long Island Sound on the coast of New Haven, Connecticut. Located at the entrance to New Haven Harbor, the beacon's name derives from its proximity to Downtown New Haven, about five miles (8 km) away. The original lighthouse consisted of a 30-foot (9.1 m) octagonal wooden tower built in 1805 by Abisha Woodward. In 1847, a new 80-foot (24 m) octagonal tower was constructed by Marcus Bassett with East Haven brownstone. This new beacon was illuminated by 12 lamps with reflectors which were positioned 97 feet (30 m) above sea level. Also constructed at this time was a two-and-one-half story brick house which supplanted the previous, deteriorating keeper's dwelling. A fourth-order Fresnel lens replaced the lamps in 1855 and a fog bell was added in the 1860s. The Five Mile Point Light was deactivated in 1877 when the nearby Southwest Ledge Light was completed. Currently, the lighthouse is contained within Lighthouse Point Park and, along with the keeper's house, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Clerestory architectural term

In architecture, a clerestory is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. The purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.

The carousel itself is a platform style device, about 60 feet (18 m) in diameter. It includes 70 figures and two chariots, some of the figures mounted on fixed metal columns, and some on columns that rise and fall with the carousel's motion. The figures appear to have originated from different sources, including figures carved in a diversity of styles. Some of them have been attributed to Charles Carvel of Brooklyn and others to Charles Looff. A figure of George Washington can be seen directing the carousel with a baton. The mechanism that drives the carousel is located at the center, with a decorative fiberglass surround. [2]

The carousel was constructed about 1905 by Timothy Murphy. Murphy is known to have "reworked" materials from other carousels, and is believed to have hired Carvel to make some alterations to the figures here. The present building was erected in 1916 by Thomas Shanley, the proprietor who developed Lighthouse Point Park as a trolley park. The park was purchased by the city in 1925, which reduced the number of attractions, but continued to operate the carousel for many years. All of the other park buildings were demolished in 1957, but the carousel was retained, its figures placed in storage. [2] It has since been restored to operation.

Trolley park

In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. Trolley parks were often created by the streetcar companies to give people a reason to use their services on weekends.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven, Connecticut Wikimedia list article

This is a list of National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven, Connecticut.

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 Noel S. Sutherland (June 15, 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Lighthouse Point Carousel". National Park Service. and Accompanying 12 maps and photos