Wisconsin
Baraboo
Circus World
The first thing
one notices about this 1917 Herschell-Spillman carousel is that it is desperate
for a full restoration. The paint is worn and seriously cracking. The carousel
is a two-row portable with 28 jumpers and 2 chariots. The horses are of the Country
Fair design. Some of the horses are probably not original. There are 2 bucking
broncos, and it is not certain that these are original to the platform. Only
four horses have been restored in the past four years.
The band organ is a North Tonawanda converted to play 125 Wurlitzer rolls.
It is not known
where the carousel was originally located, but it was in Big Bend Park in Green
Bay, Wisconsin followed by a stay at High Cliff Park in Menasha, Wisconsin
where it remained until 1967. The carousel has been at the Circus World Museum
since 1967.
Baraboo was home
to the Ringling Brothers, and it is from Baraboo that the brothers launched
their first circus tour in 1884. Baraboo remained the home of the Ringling
Brothers Circus until 1918 when it joined the Barnum and Bailey Circus which
the Ringling brothers purchased in 1908. The Circus World Museum is on the
wintering site of the Ringling Brothers Circus and contains many original
buildings. The museum has a wonderful collection and display of posters, circus
wagons and other circus memorabilia. The museum is on the National Register of
Historic Places. When visiting Wisconsin Dells, a few hours at the museum is
highly advised.
For information on
opening times call 608-356-8341 or access their web site at www.circusworldbaraboo.org/.
For further
information:
The National
Carousel Association
https://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_World_Museum
Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4awQlu_gCiM
Three Restored
Horses
Two Bucking
Broncos
Inside Panels
Waterloo
Fireman’s Park
In Fireman’s Park
in Waterloo, Wisconsin, resides a most beautiful 1911, C. W. Parker #53
portable carousel with two rows of 28 jumpers and 2 chariots. The horses are of
the Country Fair style with simple paint schemes and few trappings. The
mechanism is the grasshopper type. The scenery rounding boards sport eagles
newly (late 1980s) carved by Ray Jones and Blake Kellogg, beautiful flag
shields and scenes of Waterloo.
The carousel is
listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Restoration
was performed by Lisa Parr of Old Parr’s Studio in Chicago from 1987 to 1991.
The carousel is housed in a 1927, 14-sided building. Because of frequent flooding, the carousel
and building were moved to higher ground and re-opened on July 4, 2011.
Restoration of the carousel and its building is ongoing.
The carousel was
originally located in Lisbon, North Dakota. At some time, it became acquired by William Curtis for the Curtis Brothers Carnival based in
Cuba City, Wisconsin where it remained until 1925. It has been in
Fireman’s Park since 1925.
The
band organ purchased in 1996 is a 1915 North Tonawanda Musical Works, North
Tonawanda, New York.
The
carousel is maintained and operated by volunteers. Waterloo is fortunate to
have this beautiful and historic carousel. It is a source of pride and it shows
what a community can do when it becomes committed to a project. The City of
Waterloo is known as “Carousel City”.
For information on
opening times call 920-478-3025 or access their web site at www.waterloowi.us.
Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp31EN6bGPE
One of the
Rounding Boards
(R) Note “C. W.
Parker, World’s Largest Manufacturer of Amusement Devices, Leavenworth, Kansas”
label.
Beautiful
Secondary Carvings
Beautiful
Secondary Carvings
The Sassy Horse
1915
North Tonawanda Musical Works band organ
