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Midway Directory · Historic carousels and rides · Burnaby, British Columbia

What is the C.W. Parker Carousel at Burnaby Village Museum, and can you ride it?

The C.W. Parker Carousel is a restored 1912 carousel, Parker No. 119, at Burnaby Village Museum in Burnaby, BC, at 6501 Deer Lake Avenue. It has 36 wooden horses, four aluminum ponies and a chariot. Visitors can buy ride tickets on site during Spring Break, the summer season and the winter holiday event. It does not run during Haunted Village.

Still running Facts checked on against 11 sources.

Quick facts

Every line comes from a source listed at the bottom of the page. The small numbers point to it.

Official nameC.W. Parker Carousel9
Also known as
  • C.W. Parker no. 119, the catalogue name used by the museum's archive.5
  • Burnaby Centennial Parker Carousel, the name used at its 1993 opening.8
Listed asHistoric carousel or ride
WhereBurnaby Village Museum. 6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby, BC V5G 3T6235
The carousel is in the Don Wrigley Pavilion; a separate Carousel Entrance on Deer Lake Avenue faces the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.
BuiltBuilt in 1912 in Leavenworth, Kansas, as the 119th carousel the Parker company produced.4511
Made byC.W. Parker Company (also recorded as the Charles Wallace Parker Company)45
Where it isBurnaby Village Museum41
The rideThe carousel carries 36 wooden horses, four cast aluminum ponies and one chariot. Some of the horses date from about 1917 and others from 1920 to 1922. It began with a steam engine and now runs on a 5-horsepower three-phase electric motor. It turns at roughly five revolutions per minute and stands about 29 feet tall at the centre. Its lighting uses 858 small bulbs and the machine includes 140 mirrors. Music comes from a Wurlitzer Style 146B military band organ made around 1925 in North Tonawanda, New York, which plays paper rolls.46
Riding itVisitors can ride the carousel for a per-ride ticket, sold at the front gates or the carousel gift shop. The FAQ says it runs during Spring Break, the Summer Season and the winter Heritage Christmas event. It is closed during the Haunted Village event in October. Operators apply posted safety guidelines to decide who can ride. Museum admission is free except during Haunted Village. The carousel was closed for a safety inspection during the December 2022 holiday event.1211
History topicsCarousels
Official websiteburnabyvillagemuseum.ca

History

  • In 1913 the carousel was sold to a buyer in Houston, Texas, and it toured Texas with the Lone Star Circus until 1915, when it went back to the factory and was probably rebuilt with fancier horses and heavier rounding boards.45
  • By May 1936 it was running at Happyland in Vancouver's Hastings Park, inside a pavilion built in 1928 by the rival Philadelphia Toboggan Company.54
  • After Happyland was demolished in 1957, the carousel moved to a small pavilion at Playland, and when that pavilion came down in 1972 it ran outdoors and was stored each winter.45
  • In 1989 plans were announced to sell the carousel horse by horse at an auction in New York, and in May 1989 Burnaby Village Museum agreed to give it a home.45

Restoration

  • A volunteer group, the Friends of the Vancouver Carousel Society, formed in 1989 to keep the carousel from being broken up.4511
  • The purchase was made with support from the Government of British Columbia and the Municipality of Burnaby, and the society raised money for restoration.45
  • A carousel specialist was brought in to coordinate the rebuilding and restoration work.45
  • Restoration of the carousel and its band organ took place between about 1990 and 1992 in a Texaco warehouse at the foot of Burnaby Mountain on Burrard Inlet, and archive photos show a restoration volunteer stripping paint from the organ.7
  • The City of Burnaby provided the warehouse used for the restoration.11
  • The original band organ had been sold before the museum acquired the carousel, so the society bought and restored a replacement Wurlitzer from a collector in Spokane, Washington.6
  • Burnaby built a new pavilion for the carousel as a Centennial project, and the carousel and the Don Wrigley Pavilion opened at the museum on March 25, 1993.54

Getting there

  • The museum's main entrance and parking lot are on Deer Lake Avenue near Canada Way and Sperling Avenue.3
  • A Carousel Entrance is also on Deer Lake Avenue, across from the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.3
  • Parking in the museum lot is free but limited, and the museum suggests arriving early, carpooling or taking transit.31
  • The museum is reachable by public transit and points visitors to the TransLink trip planner for routes.3

Linked in the directory

  • Related: PNE Fair. The Globe and Mail reports that the PNE announced plans to dismantle the carousel and auction its horses before it was saved for the museum.10
  • Once ran at: Playland Amusement Park. The carousel operated at Playland from 1957 until its pavilion there was demolished in 1972, and afterwards ran outdoors.45
  • Related: West Coast Amusements. Horse No. 18 is named for the founder of West Coast Amusements, who helped raise money to bring the carousel to the museum.10

What we worked out

Not stated outright by any one source. This is our arithmetic or reading of the sources cited.

  • Built in 1912, the carousel turns 114 years old in 2026.4
  • Having opened at the museum in 1993, it has operated there for about 33 years as of 2026.510
  • Counting 36 horses, four ponies and one chariot gives 41 riding positions in total.4

What we couldn't confirm

  • No carver is named on any page we read, so the carver field is left out.
  • We found no heritage designation or Canada's Historic Places listing for the carousel itself.
  • Opening hours are omitted: the museum is seasonal and the carousel does not run in every season, so check the museum's Hours and Rates page for current dates.
  • The FAQ names the winter season Heritage Christmas, while the 2026 hours page lists Festive Village; we could not confirm on an official page that the carousel runs during Festive Village.
  • The carousel's whereabouts from 1915 to 1936 are unknown; the archive series suggests San Jose, San Francisco or Tacoma, while the Burnaby Beacon names San Jose, San Diego and Tacoma.
  • The artifact record says the outdoor years ran 1972 to 1989, while the archive series says it ran outdoors at Playland until 1990.
  • The archive series gives an opening date of March 25, 1993, while an opening-ceremony photo record is dated March 27, 1993.
  • Museum records give different fundraising targets for the purchase and restoration.
  • The artifact record gives a platform diameter of 2.19 m next to a figure of 40 ft, which do not match, so diameter is left out.
  • The pavilion name is spelled Wrigely in the artifact record and Wrigley in the series and opening records.
  • The FAQ page shows two different per-ride ticket figures; check the museum before visiting.
  • No specific bus routes or SkyTrain stations are listed on the official Getting Here page.
  • What became of the carousel's original band organ is not recorded.

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Sources

Official sources first. We paraphrase; nothing is copied. We use no logos or photos.

  1. Burnaby Village Museum: FAQs. Read on · official
  2. Burnaby Village Museum: Hours & Rates. Read on · official
  3. Burnaby Village Museum: Getting Here. Read on · official
  4. Heritage Burnaby (City of Burnaby): C.W. Parker no. 119 carousel series. Read on · government
  5. Heritage Burnaby (City of Burnaby): Band organ, artifact record BV991.21.1. Read on · government
  6. Heritage Burnaby (City of Burnaby): Volunteer stripping paint from the masthead of the Wurlitzer band organ. Read on · government
  7. Heritage Burnaby (City of Burnaby): Commemorative citation unveiled during opening ceremonies for carousel. Read on · government
  8. Heritage Burnaby (City of Burnaby): The C.W. Parker Carousel at the Burnaby Village Museum. Read on · government
  9. The Globe and Mail: At Burnaby merry-go-round, every horse has a name and a story. Read on · news
  10. Burnaby Beacon: Uncovering Burnaby: The story behind Burnaby's historic carousel. Read on · news

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