Midway Directory · Kinds of listings
Historic carousels and rides
A carousel or other ride old enough to have a history of its own: who made it and when, who carved it, where it travelled, how it was restored and whether it is protected.
A historic carousel is a ride old enough to have a history of its own: who carved it, where it travelled, how it was saved. The golden age of the hand-carved carousel ran from about 1870 to 1930; of the thousands built, only around 160 remain. BC has one from 1912.
What it is
Carousels were built by a handful of firms, Dentzel, Looff, Parker, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, with hand-carved horses and menagerie animals, band organs and painted rounding boards. Those that survive are restored, landmarked and still ridden.
History, era by era
- 1870–1930
- An estimated five or six thousand wooden carousels were built in the golden age, roughly 1870 to 1930; about 160 remain.1
- 1912–1915
- C.W. Parker of Leavenworth, Kansas, built carousel number 119 in 1912. It toured Texas with the Lone Star Circus before going back to the factory in 1915.23
- 1936–1989
- The Parker carousel ran at Happyland and then Playland in Vancouver until 1989, when plans to auction it horse by horse were dropped and Burnaby Village Museum took it in.3
- Today
- The Santa Cruz boardwalk’s Looff Carousel is a National Historic Landmark, still running.4
The midway connection
The carousel was the travelling midway’s anchor ride. West Coast Amusements began with a used merry-go-round bought in 1950.5
Wherever people walk a row of booths, the midway is there in some form: the full kind, with rides, games of skill and food joints, or the quieter kind, with craft tables, home baking and a booth like ours. That walk, with family and friends and something to look at every few steps, is what this directory is about.
One fact worth knowing
- Glen Echo Park’s 1921 Dentzel carousel in Maryland is the only carousel owned by the US National Park Service.1
Questions people ask
How many antique carousels are left?
About 160 of an estimated five or six thousand built between 1870 and 1930.1
Is there a historic carousel in BC?
Yes: the 1912 C.W. Parker carousel at Burnaby Village Museum.2
Sources
- Smithsonian Magazine: Take a spin on the most beautiful, hand-crafted carousels in the nation. Read on · news
- Heritage Burnaby: C.W. Parker carousel. Read on · reference
- Heritage Burnaby: C.W. Parker carousel collection description. Read on · reference
- Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: Boardwalk history. Read on · official
- Penticton Western News: Life is a carnival. Read on · news
How these listings work
Listings are free and factual; nobody pays to be here. Every line on a listing points to its source, official pages first, and each source shows the day we read it. What we couldn't confirm is listed on the page, not guessed. Each page sits under its city and province or state, next to the fairs nearby.
British Columbia, Canada
Listed in the census (short listings)
The Midway Mailbag
New fairs, festivals, midways and attractions as we add them to the directory. About twice a month in fair season, less in winter.
All kinds of listings · Midway Directory
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