The G.A. Dentzel Company was an American builder of

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

s in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

History

Its founder, Gustav Dentzel, had immigrated to the United States in 1864, from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Having carved carousels for his father before immigrating he opened a cabinet making shop on Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia. He soon tired of the cabinet making business and decided to try his hand at building a small portable carousel that he could travel with around the country. After finding that people had a great enthusiasm for his carousel he decided to go into the carousel building business full-time in 1867, hiring other woodworkers who had also emigrated from Europe. That same year, on Smith's Island adjacent to Philadelphia, Dentzel's company opened the first non-portable, permanently fixed amusement park carousel in the United States.. His son William took over the business after Gustav's death in 1909, and continued making carousels until 1928, with employees such as master-carvers Salvatore "Cherni" Cernigliaro and Daniel Muller. After William's death, Muller went on to form his own carousel company, while the Dentzel equipment and remaining stock were sold to the

Philadelphia Toboggan Company Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry B. Auchy and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphi ...

Operating carousels in USA

Gallery

Carousel longshot Philly.JPG, The Woodside Amusement Park Carousel, now at the

Please Touch Museum The Please Touch Museum is a children's museum located in the Centennial District, Philadelphia, Centennial District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum focuses on teaching children through interactive exhibits and special ...

File:Lead Horse Carousel Philly.JPG, Lead horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel File:Dentzel Works.jpg, Maker's mark on the lead horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel File:Childrensmuseumgirafferow.jpg, Row of giraffes on the

Broad Ripple Park Carousel Broad Ripple Park Carousel is an antique carousel in The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. It was installed in 1917 at an amusement park near the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it remained until the building housing it collapse ...

File:Mad Horse Carousel Philly.JPG, Horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel File:Pullen Park Carousel 06.JPG, Giraffe at the

Pullen Park Carousel The Pullen Park Carousel is a classic wood carousel at Pullen Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. Built in 1900, the carousel contains 52 hand-carved basswood animals, 2 chariots (or sleighs), 18 large gilded mirrors and canvas panels and a Wurlitzer ...

File:Weona Park Carousel Animals 12.JPG, Zebra at Weona Park Carousel File:Pullen Park Carousel Animal - Tiger.jpg, Tiger at the Pullen Park Carousel

References

Bibliography

External links

antiquecarousels.com dentzel.weebly.comalbanycarousel.comDentzel Carousel at the San Francisco Zoo
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Amusement Ride Manufacturers Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with positi ...

Gustav Dentzel Carousel manufacturers