History
In 1887, Richard Stanhope Pullen donated 80 acres (32 ha) of land to the city of Raleigh for use as a public park. The carousel was originally located in Bloomsbury Park (near the present-day Five Points neighborhood in Raleigh) and was moved to Pullen Park in 1921 when the City Board voted to replace the steam powered antique merry go round. Bloomsbury Park, an amusement park founded by Carolina Power & Light (CP&L), was apparently in financial trouble and Pullen Park was able to acquire the carousel for $1,425 - one tenth of its original cost. The carousel became a Pullen Park focal point and is now recognized as one of the foremost surviving works of the Pennsylvania Carousel Company, founded by Gustav Dentzel. In 1860, Dentzel emigrated from Germany and set up a cabinet making shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After the public's positive reaction to a merry go round he had built, Dentzel began constructing carousels full-time in 1876. From then until the closing of his factory in 1928, the company was the premier maker of carousels in the United States. The Pullen Park Carousel is one of 23 remaining historic Dentzel carousels still operating in North America.
The primary feature of the Pullen Park Carousel is a menagerie of 52 hand-carved wooden animals carved by Salvatore Cernigliaro who was known for elaborate and imaginative designs. The animals include horses, ostriches, cats, rabbits, pigs, a lion, a tiger, a reindeer, and a goat. The carousel is housed in a tent-like wooden-beamed shelter. The original music was produced by a Wurlitzer band organ. Since coming to Pullen Park, the carousel has been in almost continuous use. Replacements of several mechanical components have been made due to wear and tear, but the ride remains largely intact.
Read more about this topic: Pullen Park Carousel
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“[Men say:] “Don’t you know that we are your natural protectors?” But what is a woman afraid of on a lonely road after dark? The bears and wolves are all gone; there is nothing to be afraid of now but our natural protectors.”
—Frances A. Griffin, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 19, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
“The whole history of civilisation is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)