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Carousel Facts Click on any of the carousel pictures to view a larger photo.
This one-of-a-kind carousel is a wooden, thirty seven foot,
three row, menagerie carousel with s Stinson band organ. It accommodates
up to thirty five riders. There are thirty animals and two chariots on the
carousel.
The hand-carved animals include: horses, a tiger, a stork, rabbits, an ostrich, azebra, a baby elephant, a honey bear, a pirate cat, a giraffe, a sea urchin, and a panda. Each wooden figure is hand carved and beautifully
hand primed with alkyd primer and painted with Japan Oils. The figures
are then covered with up to 8 coats of clear enamel to protect the paint
from wear. The entire carousel weighs approximately 32,000 pounds and is constructed of
over 15 tons of wood, iron gears and wires to move the figures around and up
and down. It was constructed by Carousel Works, Inc. of Mansfield, Ohio, world
renown craftsmen of wooden carousels. Scenes of Des Moines and the surrounding area are depicted on the carousel.
Among the scenes are Old Main at Drake University, Terrace Hill, The Botanical
Center, Dallas County Courthouse, a covered bridge, The Victoria Hotel, the
Civic Center, the State Historical Building, a 1940 circa farm scene, and Salisbury
House. The cost to construct the carousel originally was nearly $300,000. This money was raised privately by the The Des Moines Carousel Foundation. Each of the animals costs approximately $5,000 to build. The cost for the band organ itself was $25,000. The building that houses the carousel was constructed for a cost of $250,000.
Special Thanks To: |
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Copyright 2001-2019. The Heritage Carousel of Des Moines. All rights reserved. |