Friday, October 14, 2005

5 cents a ride

When we visited my hometown this summer, we had occasion to ride the Looff Carousel at Lakeside Park, "one of the oldest hand crafted wooden merry-go-rounds in North America."

This past weekend was its final run of the season. Both the summer and our carousel ride were commmemorated in a small way this week by Helena digging out her souvenir T-shirt. It's too big for normal wear, but I struck a deal with her — if she dressed in sensible clothes for daycare, she could wear the carousel shirt to sleep in.

In the evening and again in the morning she recounted her memories of that day at the park. She'd wanted to sit on the lion, but once we climbed aboard the platform, she was scared. Then she chose a horse, but even that was daunting. Finally, Helena and I settled into a bench in one of the "chariots" while my sister perched on a nearby giraffe. Babcia was there too, watching. Dizzying at first, but then smiles and giggles.

This historic masterpiece was hand-carved by the Charles I.D. Looff Company between 1898 and 1905. The carousel came to St. Catharines in 1921 when it was purchased to become a part of the Port Dalhousie amusement park. It is a Coney Island–style carousel with 68 carved animals in 4 rows (making it relatively large), 4 chariots, and a functioning band organ. Each animal has been hand-carved, and most still sport real horse-hair tails.

According to the U.S. National Carousel Association, between 3,000 and 4,000 wooden carousels were carved across North America between the years 1885 and 1930. Today, less than 150 of these original carousels are left, and only 9 historic carousels reside in Canada.


The carousel has a new lion, Paws, hand-carved and painted by the Friends of the Carousel. Paws is allegedly a replacement for a lion that went missing some 30 years ago, though some sources maintain only Leo, carved by Looff himself, was on the original roster.



History of the carousel's ownership.

In 1974, the carousel suffered a storage fire and 20 animals were damaged. It was restored and reopened 1981.

This tidbit explains to me why memories of the carousel are absent from my own childhood. It was as adolescents that we flocked to the park and thought it was cool to spend our days and our nickels there. I should note that much of the popularity of Lakeside Park, our teenage "nostalgia" for it, was owing to the fact that it had been immortalized by Rush, which one had to admit was kind of cool even if one didn't much like their music.

Midway hawkers calling
'Try your luck with me'
Merry-go-round wheezing
The same old melody
A thousand ten cent wonders
Who could ask for more
A pocketful of silver
The key to heaven's door


Since the reopening in 1981, a carousel ride costs 5 cents, same as it did in 1921. (I don't know if it ever cost more than that.)

Niagara Woodcarvers are helping the Friends of the Carousel (a not-for-profit organization) with the ongoing restoration project. There's also a gift shop now, with all proceeds helping to fund the work. In addition to the T-shirt, we bought a sticker book for Helena.

I was always in awe of these prancing beasts, but the organ is also a wonder.

Sources show it currently has a Frati band organ which plays Wurlitzer 150 rolls, and that this organ was refurbished in 1985. The Artizan organ resides in The St. Catharines Historical Museum, having been moved there in 1976.


In one of his books, Neil Peart writes:
Another important setting in my childhood and early teens was Lakeside Park, in Port Dalhousie...When I was fourteen and fifteen, I worked summers at Lakeside Park as a barker ('Catch a bubble, prize every time,' all day and night)... And there was music: some of the kids brought transistor radios to work, and the music of that summer of 1966 played up and down the midway... At night, when the midway closed, we gathered around a fire on the beach, singing... Lakeside Park resonated in my life in so many deep ways, especially those fundamental exposures to music that would be forever important... It's all gone now. All that's left, apart from memories, is the old merry-go-round...


There are current plans to relocate the carousel within the park and house it in a glass-walled structure.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those old carousels are so impressive, aren't they? I used to go to the one in Golden Gate Park (San Francisco), many years ago, which was also recently restored. I have yet to take my children there, though I know my 2 year old daughter would be enthralled. I enjoy your site. I'm always interested in seeing what you're reading.

Shannon said...

love big shirts on little kids. just got back from NYC with huge shirts for my babies...
Here from Micheles!

ribbiticus said...

i looove carousels! i've always thought of them as magical. to this day, i haven't met one which didn't have my name on it - lol. hi, michele sent me today. :)

Anonymous said...

I love carousels, too. The one you described is my childhood favourite. My mother used to put me on it when I was very young and give the operator a dollar or so.

I don't think that I visited it as a teenager but I revisited it as an adult. I'm glad that it's still there.

Anonymous said...

Does Helena look just like you? Because I picture you as Helena, but taller and with glasses. A somewhat more sophisticated dresser. Jury's still out on the stuck-out tongue...

Carol said...

The old ones are a special trip back in time. I just like to watch as the children pass by,waving.
Michele sent me, honestly.

Anonymous said...

I confess that I am kind of scared of old carousels; perhaps because of some old cheezy horror movies? I always feel that at any given moment those animals will come to life and do me serious harm.

On a more positive note, I just adore that picture of Helena.

Anonymous said...

Idk how true it is, but I was once told that the carousel had been willed to the city on the condition that the price never goes above 5 cents.