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==Description==
==Description==
The Coney Island carousel had 52<ref name="splash" /><ref name="marker" /> to 54 horses and two chariots. The carved wooden horses are in sets of three that move up and down and side to side. Mirrors topped its center pole, and elaborately carved shields were on the canopy. The shields were replaced with plastic by 1975, but the organ still played music.<ref name="Stout" />
The Coney Island carousel had 52<ref name="splash" /><ref name="marker" /> to 54 horses and two chariots. The carved wooden horses are in sets of three that move up and down and side to side. Mirrors topped its center pole, and elaborately carved shields were on the canopy. Many articles say it was the building that was new, but also that it housed "one of the largest and most complete amusements of this character [carousels] in the country."<ref>"Park is Open Today." ''The Columbus Dispatch.'' April 23, 1922. Page 7.</ref> The shields were replaced with plastic by 1975, but the organ still played music.<ref name="Stout" />


==Notes==
==Notes==

Revision as of 06:49, 28 January 2026

Carousel
Other Name(s) Grand Carousel
Caroussel
Carrousel
Merry-Go-Round
Type Rotating Ride
Park Section Center
Built 1914
Opened 1922
Closed 1937 (park closure)
Manufacturer Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC)
William F. Mangels
Marcus C. Illions & Sons (Horse carvings)
Architect Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC)
Materials Wood
Vehicle Type Horses and Chariots
Number of Vehicles 54 horses, 2 chariots
Riders per Vehicle 1

The Grand Carousel, was one of several "merry-go-rounds" at Olentangy Park. Built in 1914, it was moved to Olentangy Park in 1922.[1][2][3]. The ride was first an attraction at Kister's Hotel on Surf Avenue at New York's Coney Island.[4] The horses and decorations were carved by Marcus C. Illions and Sons,[5][6] in collaboration with William F. Mangels[7] and the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC).[8] When the park closed in 1937, there were two carousels.[9] This ride was moved to the Haenlein Brothers' new Zoo Amusement Park across from the Columbus Zoo,[10][11][12][13] on the site of the future Zoombezi Bay.[14] This park was bought by the Gooding Amusement Company in 1956 after Leo Haenlein's death.[15] It became Wyandot Lake in 1984.[16] After the ride was restored in 2000, it was installed and is currently operating at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.[17][18][7]

Description

The Coney Island carousel had 52[6][7] to 54 horses and two chariots. The carved wooden horses are in sets of three that move up and down and side to side. Mirrors topped its center pole, and elaborately carved shields were on the canopy. Many articles say it was the building that was new, but also that it housed "one of the largest and most complete amusements of this character [carousels] in the country."[19] The shields were replaced with plastic by 1975, but the organ still played music.[12]

Notes

Ohio history plaques at the site and articles from the time of the carousel's restoration indicate that the ride was built in 1914.[18][6][7] However, Mangels worked with Illions to create Coney Island-style carousels early in the century, before M. C. Illions and Sons incorporated in 1909, putting the ride's creation much earlier. Donald L. Mains, Zoo Park president in 1975, believed the carousel was built sometime around 1900.[12] The National Carousel Association census also lists the carousel as being built in 1914, but the dates listed for Olentangy Park are inaccurate by nine years.[20]

Other carousels at the park had fanciful creatures, with a notable exception in 1930 when a new carousel called "Merry-Go-Round De Luxe" opened with most, if not all, horses.[21] It had the same number of horses, and using all horses was a "new" idea at the time.[22]

  • Power mechanism for carousels. (Oct. 26, 1909) U.S. Patent No. 937,750 PDF[23]
  • Carousel bearing mechanism. (April 4, 1911) U.S. Patent No. 988,536 PDF[24]
  • Carousel. (Jan. 11, 1916) U.S. Patent No. 1,168,089 PDF[25]
  • Carousel. (Feb. 8, 1916) U.S. Patent No. 1,171,220 PDF[26]

See Also

References

  1. ↑ "At Olentangy." The Columbus Dispatch. April 17, 1922. Page 24.
  2. ↑ "Olentangy Park." The News Gazette (Reynoldsburg, Ohio). July 6, 1922. Vol. 15. No. 27. Page 2.
  3. ↑ Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. Sanborn Map Company. - 1922 Vol. 3, 1922, 1922. Map.
  4. ↑ "OH – Columbus Zoo Carousel – 1914 Mangels-Illions." CarouselHistory.com. Aug. 12, 1915.
  5. ↑ "Amusement Ride Company List." Ohio Department of Agriculture. Database. Last updated 2025. Accessed July 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bartlett, Margo. "Making a Splash." The Delaware Gazette (Delaware, Ohio). July 6, 1998. Page 17. Accessed through Newspapers.com. Clip 1 Clip 2
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "4-21 Grand Carousel." Remarkable Ohio. Part of the Ohio History Connection. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2025.
  8. ↑ Fried, Frederick. A Pictorial History of the Carousel,
  9. ↑ City of Columbus, Franklin Co., Ohio. Franklin Survey Co. 1937. Vol. 1. Map. Accessed through Ebay.com.
  10. ↑ Barrett, Richard E. 1984. "Olentangy Park: Four Decades of Fun." Columbus and Central Ohio Historian No. 1. April 1984. Page 17.
  11. ↑ "Zoo Amusement Park Has Established Its Popularity." Columbus Dispatch. June 2, 1929. Page 14-A.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Stout, Ned. 1975. "Zoo Park Season Starts with Look to Past." Columbus Dispatch. April 23, 1975. Page C-1.
  13. ↑ "Marysville Family Picnics Arranged for Columbus Zoo." Marysville Journal-Tribune (Marysville, Ohio). August 16, 1939. Pages 1-2. Accessed through Newspapers.com Clip 1, Clip 2
  14. ↑ Hoholik, Suzanne. "Park rechristened Zoombezi Bay - Former Wyandot Lake to reopen in May." The Columbus Dispatch. July 12, 2007. Page 3-B.
  15. ↑ "Gooding Buys Amusement Park at Zoo." Columbus Dispatch. April 9, 1956. Page 3A.
  16. ↑ Franklin, Peter D. "Ground broken for park next to Columbus Zoo." The Columbus Dispatch. Nov. 10, 1983. Page C6.
  17. ↑ Carousel News and Trader. June 2010. PDF
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Gallick, Thomas. 2014. "Zoo's carousel has been circling for 100 years." The Columbus Dispatch - ThisWeek Community News. Aug. 6, 2014. Last modified Aug. 7, 2014. Accessed on July 22, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Park is Open Today." The Columbus Dispatch. April 23, 1922. Page 7.
  20. ↑ "Grand Carousel, Columbus Zoo, Powell, OH." National Carousel Association. Census Query. Last modified 2016. Accessed on June 1, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Bottle, At Least, To Be Broken On Head Of Good Bucephalus, Lead Horse Of Olentangy Carrousel." Columbus Evening Dispatch. April 17, 1930. Page 20.
  22. ↑ "Psychology Enters Even Into Carrousel Game." Columbus Evening Dispatch. April 23, 1930. Page 16.
  23. ↑ Auchy, H. B. 1909. "Power mechanism for carousels." U.S. Patent No. 937,750. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF
  24. ↑ Auchy, H. B. 1911. "Carousel bearing mechanism." U.S. Patent No. 988,536. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF
  25. ↑ Mangels, W. F. 1916. "Carousel." U.S. Patent No. 1,168,089. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF
  26. ↑ Mangels, W. F. 1916. "Carousel." U.S. Patent No. 1,171,220. Accessed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PDF


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