The Hartford Carousel

On the Coney Island Style Carousels
the horses are made to look like they're
working hard to give you a fun ride.

For my first adventure, I ventured to Bushnell Park in Hartford to ride the ponies on the 1914 S&G crafted, Coney Island Style, Hartford Carousel.  Heading out, I predicted that the trip would be more family amusement than personal amazement.  I predicted too that the adventure would offer little more than the experience of what a thrill ride was like over 100 years ago.  The trip far exceeded my expectations as in addition to the amusement experience there was much information on hand offering insight to historic preservation, carousel history, and material culture.

Interestingly, the word "carousel" is derived from the romance languages and translates to "little war."  In fact, the earliest carousel was developed in France in the 1600s to train knights and to entertain the nobility and some members of the public in jousting tournaments.  Once carousels transitioned to public participatory entertainment they were comprised of live steeds and not for children as a result.  By the mid-1800s the carousel as we know it was developed and in 1876 the first carousel at Coney Island was installed.  Interesting in the development of the American carousels was the tie to the immigration of skilled European craftsmen in the late nineteenth century who brought with them the know how to recreate the "grand carousels" popular in their homeland.   The most unexpected discovery on the visit was the Wurlitzer--which provides the music for the ride.  The Wurlitzer functions much like a player piano and, like the horses, is also a work of art.  As we rode the ride the Wurlitzer bumped out "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Dixie."  This site was well worth the price of admission ($1 per ride).

The Wurlitzer