The History of Dentzel Carousels and the Burlington Carousel Festival 2023
The City of Burlington is proud to announce that on May 6 - 7, 2023, the City will host the first Carousel Festival since 2019 celebrating the return of a Burlington icon. Read on to learn more about the carousel!
To say I have a sense of place may be an understatement…I’ve lived in the same town on the same street for almost my whole life! I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to travel and see so much of the world, but as I get older, I appreciate the small town I grew up in more and more.
One of the fondest memories of my childhood was going to City Park in the summer to ride the rides and the carousel was always my favorite ride! At the time, I had no idea just how special this carousel was!
What I know now is that Burlington’s historic, hand carved Dentzel Carousel is a work of art that we are so fortunate to have!
The Dentzel Carousel factory was founded in 1867 in Germantown, Pennsylvania by Gustav Dentzel. It became a synonym for excellence in the pioneering and development of hand carved carousels. Some Dentzel carousels are still in working order today, including the carousel in our City Park.
The City of Burlington purchased the Dentzel carousel in our city park in 1948 from an amusement park in Genoa, Ohio. It was built by the famed Dentzel Carousel Company around 1910 near Philadelphia and there are only 25 Dentzel Carousels still in operation in the United States. Other locations include Disneyland, the San Francisco Zoo, Six Flags over Texas, and Raleigh’s Pullen Park.
In 1948, Burlington’s City manager, W.H. Carper, had a vision that the carousel would bring great joy for citizens in Burlington and he was correct. In 1948, the carousel cranked up for the first time and there were reportedly 12000 attendees. At that time, a ride was 5 cents.
For a city the size of Burlington, the carousel was considered quite a treat and residents from surrounding communities came to ride the carousel. It soon became a regional draw and still is today.
The Burlington Dentzel Carousel is a menagerie carousel featuring hand carved wooden animals including horses, rabbits, cats, ostriches, a stag, a lion, a tiger, and a giraffe. Some of the animals are “jumpers” which go up and down and some are “standers” which are stationary.
In the mid 1980’s, the carousel had fallen into disrepair and local resident Diane Vaught helped spearhead a grassroots community led effort to restore the carousel. At that time, the animals were painted in bright primary colors and the rounding boards (pictured above middle left) had been painted over with cartoon characters like Micky Mouse. Originally the rounding boards were paintings from different historical eras depicting wildlife scenes and landscapes.
Ms. Vaught and her team of volunteers restored the carousel to its original appearance. For the animals, they stripped the paint, worked with resins to strengthen the wood, and repainted with historically appropriate colors.
For the rounding boards, they delicately scraped off layers of paint to reveal the original scenes underneath. From there, artists recreated the colors from those original scenes. Ms. Vaught worked with local textile machinery manufacturer Lessona to cast new metal gears to replace the old, deteriorated originals.
In 2018, the Dentzel carousel was again in need of refurbishment and the Burlington City Council voted to enlist Carousel and Carvings, a specialty restoration and manufacturing company from Marion, Ohio, for the job.
The new carousel house is a state-of the-art rotunda within the Burlington City Park. Its huge glass doors can be opened and closed, allowing for year-round use. The Carousel House also includes an event space with a view of the Carousel that can be rented by the public. The original Carousel house has been repurposed as a covered pavilion.
I’m a firm believer in historic preservation. The Dentzel Carousel Factory had a vision that was carried out by artisans that specialized in their craft, which has become rare today. Honoring the art of the past and preserving it for future generations is important.
The meticulous carving of the carousel animals is breathtaking and something that cannot be easily replicated. It makes me so happy that our city has chosen to restore this beautiful part of our history as the centerpiece of City Park and it is an honor for me to be able to take my grandsons to experience our Dentzel Carousel!
The Carousel’s Wurlitzer Band Organ was restored as well and stands proudly alongside as the ride goes around!
Burlington City Park features other rides to be enjoyed by children and adults including a train that goes around the perimeter of the park, a boat ride (see below), cars on a track and an airplane ride. One of my favorites as a child was the boats and it gives me so much pleasure to see my grandsons riding these wooden boats!
As you can see from the pictures above, the details of the hand carved carousel animals is beautifully restored and the carousel will be appreciated and enjoyed for years to come!
The City of Burlington is proud to announce that on May 6 and 7, 2023, the City will host the first Carousel Festival since 2019 celebrating the return of a Burlington icon.
The event features live music & performances, an artisan market, food vendors and a fun-packed Kids Zone as well as the parks amusement rides! Click here for more information! If you live close by, come and join us to celebrate our carousel! I’ll see you there!