Photo TR: Albany Brass Ring Carousel Project

[chadster]

On June 29, 2011, I had the opportunity to visit the Albany Brass Ring Carousel Project in downtown Albany, Oregon. The project started in 2002 with the donation of a 1909 Dentzel mechanism by the Dentzel family and is thought to be the last ever produced. Wanting to preserve history and re-create the carousel in the way it was originally built, a team of volunteers assembled and began hand carving and painting replacement horses in 2003 from custom made drawings by volunteer artists. The carousel itself can accommodate 54 horses, however they plan on producing about 60 different animals. The extra animals will be rotated from time to time to allow for refurbishment and continued operation of the carousel.

 

Aside from the carvers and painters, a second team of volunteers meets each Saturday to refurbish and rebuild the carousel floor and center pieces which we were told was ahead of schedule and near completion.

 

The current plan calls for the demolition of the current building to allow for a new building to be constructed starting in 2013. Prior to that, the mechanism will be broken down and animals placed at an alternate location and assembled in the new building. The carousel, gift shop, museum, and workshop will all be housed in the new building.

 

The project is funded 100% by donations, sponsorships, and items sold in the gift shop. Labor is all volunteer and anyone can donate their time or skills.

 

You can learn more about the project here.

Laura was hoppy to be here. Get it. Hoppy. haha

Jasper was an actual animal that is to be used on the carousel. They had him set up on a mechanism to simulate riding on the carousel. Lucky for Laura, she is not an ACEr and was able to meet the posted weight limit.

When you walk into the building you are basically walking in to the paint shop. Here we find a finished dragon.

All of the animals here are ready to ride. You are allowed to sit on them as long as you meet the weight limit.

These are some freaky looking animals. The idea is to keep them along the same line appearance and paint wise as what they might have been 110 years ago.

This particular frog was awaiting a few final touches and multiple coats of poly. This side is known as the appearance side which is more detailed than the side that faces inward.

Wet Paint.

Noted!

There is a lot of attention to detail here.

Here are some of the artist renderings of the various animals. The drawings are blown up and travel with each animal throughout its process for the carver or painter to referrence.

Random horse head.

More random pieces in paint.

Rosettes.

Various pieces in various stages of paint.

Here we go inside the "office" where we will find many pieces donated by the Dentzel family as part of a history museum.

All of the pieces include signage telling you what it is.

All classic stuff donated by the Dentzel family.

All hand painted. Very cool.

FYI: Not for sale. Well, some of the replica stuff is, but most of it isn't.

At this point I will shut up and let you admire the beauty.

Because no one likes an annoying person.

Who tells you random stuff.

Such as this lion is freaking heavy!

So here is what the new building will look like.

After passing by the set of building plans, we entered the carving room. As mentioned earlier, the drawings have been blown up and are included at each carving station.

Here they are working on a fox.

An overview of the carving room.

The detail in the carvings is amazing. Words couldn't describe it. At this point, one of the carvers noticed our TPR shirts and took us on a personal tour of the carving area and mechanism area.

Here they are working on one of the largest pieces, a stationary elephant.

This hollow area is to be used for a time capsule.

Many of the animals have them and are all sponsored.

All of the ornaments are also sponsored. They are considering adding more to allow for additional cash flow via sponsorship. The project itself has attracted money, donations, and volunteers from all over.

Finally we headed into the back room where the mechanism and floor was being rebuilt and refurbished.

Bearings and whatnot have been refurbished

We were told the motor was in perfect working condition.

Various bearings and pieces.

Here they are working on cutting, fitting, and assembling the final section of the carousel floor.

Some of the floor is removed to allow for the current building's supports.

These are some of the center sections. A boat maker volunteered to help make the curved sections when he heard of the project.

My, what a big pole they have

And various horse poles and canopy poles. All refurbished and ready to assemble.

So there you have it. These guys and gals are doing a remarkable job refurbishing parts of the carousel that could be saved, and recreating other pieces such as the decroative panels and horses. If you are in the area, its worthy of a visit. Plan on spending about an hour, you'll be glad you did.

Edited August 7, 2011 by chadster

[ratdogg68]

Love great restorations like this, thanks for sharing.

[the ghost]

Very unique TR! Pretty cool!

[PSiRockin]

Carousels are great, nice to see a great restoration going on.

[BigDipper 80]

That's some absolutely gorgeous work they have going on there. I absolutely love carousels for their sheer level of artistry that cannot be matched by any other ride.

[BeemerBoy]

LOVED this report. Great stuff!

[The SETGO Guys]

The effort put into the recreation of this Carousel is amazing!

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the correct term for this project should be Merry-go-Round.

 

Back in the 1100's, Arabian and Turkish horsemen played a game on horseback. They took it very seriously... so seriously that Italian and Spanish crusaders who watched, described the contest as a "little war" or garosello and carosella respectively.

 

So I think Carousel is only used when you are referring to a ride with Horses only.

 

Merry-go-round would be the term than encompasses all the animals!

 

I can't wait to see the finished product!

[BigDipper 80]

^They're actually called menagerie carousels if they have more than horses.