Grand Carousel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Grand Carousel (referred to simply as the Merry-Go-Round) was built in 1926 for the
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saint ...
by William H. Dentzel. Finished too late for the sesquicentennial, it was installed at
Kennywood Park Kennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1899, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway. It was purchased in 1 ...
outside
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
in 1927. A Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark, the Grand Carousel is Kennywood's third and largest carousel. The music on the carousel is provided by a 1916
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
Military Band Organ, Style #153 (one of the oldest Wurlitzer #153's in existence). It is a four-abreast carousel (meaning that it has four rows of animals) and travels in a counter-clockwise direction with over 1,500 lights decorating the ride. The two notable non-equine animals featured on the ride are the tiger and the lion. These two non-equine animals qualify this carousel as a menagerie carousel. It is one of the three rides at Kennywood with a start/stop bell that dates back to the origin of the ride.


Restoration

Both the carousel and band organ were restored in the winter of 1975/76 for the 1976 season. The carousel was restored again in the winter of 2004/05, and the band organ in the winter of 2010/11.


Notes

Amusement rides introduced in 1927 Buildings and structures in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Carousels in the United States Carousels in Pennsylvania Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Kennywood {{Philadelphia-stub