Jane's Carousel Debuts in Dumbo
The carousel renovated by Jane Walentas, wife of the man who is responsible for Dumbo as we know it in 2006, debuted at the Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival this weekend. It is a special project that has been long in the making. "Jane's Carousel," as they are calling it, was built in 1922 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and purchased in 1984 by the Walentases at an auction of a defunct Ohio amusement park. It was originally intended for Brooklyn Bridge Park, but was never given a place there.
Ms. Walentas worked on-and-off on restoring it for nearly two decades and, ultimately, she and her husband have done what two people who own a huge part of a neighborhood can do: they have taken one of their buildings and set the up the carousel in it. No one can ride it because it is said to be too close to the walls of the building (which is the original site of the Smack Mellon Gallery). A handout available over the weekend says more than once that the intended home of the carousel is still Brooklyn Bridge Park.
"Hopefully," Ms. Walentas writes, "someday the Carousel will be housed in a wonderful new Carousel Pavilion set in the park on the East River....Completing this Carousel, giving it to the City & State and riding on it in the Park has been my wish and my passion..."
Understood?
Ms. Walentas worked on-and-off on restoring it for nearly two decades and, ultimately, she and her husband have done what two people who own a huge part of a neighborhood can do: they have taken one of their buildings and set the up the carousel in it. No one can ride it because it is said to be too close to the walls of the building (which is the original site of the Smack Mellon Gallery). A handout available over the weekend says more than once that the intended home of the carousel is still Brooklyn Bridge Park.
"Hopefully," Ms. Walentas writes, "someday the Carousel will be housed in a wonderful new Carousel Pavilion set in the park on the East River....Completing this Carousel, giving it to the City & State and riding on it in the Park has been my wish and my passion..."
Understood?
posted by rsguskind at 10:45 AM
4 Comments:
Ah, yes... such fond memories. I rode that carousel as a child in its original home in Youngstown, Ohio... and my (great) uncle painted the horses. Good to see it running and hear its music again. Hopefully kids of all ages will ride it again soon!
I too rode this Carousel many times at Idora Park in Youngstown, and it is great to see Jane taking such an interest in its restoration. I would hope that along side its ultimate display that there will be a write up that provides a proper historical perspective of this carousel, that was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
A family member has sent this clip to me !! She still lives in Youngstown, Ohio . I too rode this Carousel many times as a child growing up in Youngstown area . It was my favorite ride as a little girl & grew to cherish it as I had grown older !! I was too frightened
to ride the roller coaster- called the Wild Cat - back then ... and still am today ... Thanks for helping to reminisce of some happy & fond memories back then for me... Hope the Carousel will be able to be ridden by some new children one day soon & let them be able to make some cherished memories of their own ...
From a little girl at heart ,- now living in Las Vegas, NV. just, francine
Thank you so much for restoring our carousel. I rode it many times as a child and have such wonderful memories of it and the park itself. As a Youngstown resident it's hard to drive past where the park was and see nothing. I've told my children many times about the park and the carousel and it was wonderful to be able to show them what it looked like! Thank you so much for your dedication. Hopefully we will come visit!
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