Washington
Bickleton
Cleveland Park
The ca. 1900
(maybe 1905) Herschell-Spillman Steam Riding Gallery (carousel) of Bickleton
makes a full operating appearance only during the second weekend in June at the
Alder Creek Pioneer Picnic and Rodeo at Cleveland Park in Cleveland,
Washington. At other times, the carousel is housed in the Alder Creek Pioneer
Association Carousel Museum in Bickleton. The carousel is a two-row track
machine with 24 horses and 4 chariots. The benches that are on the inside of
the carousel are not present. Although the carousel now is powered by
electricity, the original steam engine is on display at the Picnic and Rodeo.
The platform,
baseboards and some figures could use some restoration.
The original
location of the carousel is unknown, but it resided at Oaks Amusement Park in
Portland, Oregon until 1929 after which it was purchased for $500 and moved to
Bickleton.
There is no band
organ.
Rides are 50
cents.
For information on
opening times access their web site at www.aldercreekpioneerpicnicrodeo.weebly.com
or call 509-896-2695.
For Further
Information:
Alder Creek
Pioneer Picnic and Rodeo
www.aldercreekpioneerpicnicrodeo.weebly.com
The National Carousel Association
https://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html
`
Original Steam
Engine
Federal Way
Wild Waves Theme and Water Park
Regrettably, the park is
scheduled to close permanently on November 1, 2026. The disposition of the
carousel is unknown.
At Wild Waves
Theme and Water Park is a well preserved 1906 portable, 3-row C. W. Parker with
36 jumpers and 2 chariots. The carousel is in remarkably good condition
especially when considering it is only covered by a canopy.
The original
location of the carousel is unknown, but it resided in Redondo Beach,
Washington from 1920 to 1953 after which it was located at Woodland Park in
Seattle where it remained until 1957. From 1963 to 1968, the carousel was at
the Seattle Center but moved to Point Defiance Park in Takoma, Washington where
it remained from 1970 to about 1978. Wild Waves has been the carousel’s home
since 1980.
For information on operating times access
their web site at www.wildwaves.com or
call 253-661-8000.
The National Carousel Association
https://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html
Puyallup
Washington State Fairgrounds
The Washington
State Fairgrounds in Puyallup is home to Philadelphia Toboggan Company #43. The
carousel was manufactured in 1917 and has been at the Washington State
Fairgrounds for many years. The original location of the carousel is unknown.
The Philadelphia Toboggan Company built 8 wagon mounted portable carousels,
only 3 of which are still intact. Philadelphia Toboggan Company #43 is the only
one still operating.
The carousel is a
3-row with 42 jumpers, 2 standers and 2 chariots.
The band organ is
a ca. 1916 Wurlitzer 145.
Seniors ride the
carousel for free!
The carousel was
originally purchased by William Glick who eventually sold it to Pollacks Shows.
The Lusse Brothers (Joseph C. and Robert [Ray] J.),
machine shop owners from Philadelphia who started the Lusse
Auto Skooter Company (bumper cars), purchased the
carousel from Pollack Shows. About 1923, #43 was purchased by Bud and Earl
Douglas, owners of Levitt, Brown & Higgins Shows. Starting in 1923, Earl
Douglas would bring the steam powered carousel and its Wurlitzer band organ to
the Western Washington Fair every year. In 1932, Edward and Robert Bollinger
purchased the carousel for their Burback and Bollinger Traveling Shows. In
1966, Bob Bollinger, owner of Bollinger Funtastic
Traveling Shows, donated the carousel and the band organ to the fair.
On our recent trip
to Oregon, Washington and Idaho, this was one of our favorite carousels.
We wish the thank Ms. Stacy Van Horne for her hospitality and for
taking the time to show us this classic carousel.
For information on
operating times, access their web site at www.thefair.com
or call 235-845-1771.
For Further
Information:
http://www.lusseautoscooters.com/html/legend_history.html
The Carousel News
and Trader
The National Carousel Association
https://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html
The Washington State Fair
Wagon Mount. The
wagon can be seen in many of the photographs below.
Rounding Boards
Band Organ
Republic
Ferry County Fair
Park
Ferry County
Merry-Go-Round
In Ferry County
Fair Park resides our favorite carousel we visited on our Idaho, Oregon and
Washington trip. The carousel is 2-row, portable, meticulously maintained
1895-1900 Armitage-Herschell carousel with 22 country style Armitage-Herschell and
2 country style Dare jumpers. Although the carousel was originally a track
machine, the horses are now mounted on a 1935 Hatfield Engineering jumping
mechanism frame. Thanks to fund-raisers, public and private funds, a
restoration project began in 1993 by local artisans who beautifully restored
the horses and painted the rounding boards and scenery panels.
Although the
original location of the carousel is unknown, it did reside in Tacoma, Washington
until 1958 when it was purchased by the Ferry County Fair for $2000.
The building in
which the carousel is housed is beautiful and built with public and donated
funds and labor.
The building
housing the carousel and the surrounding fairgrounds are beautifully and
meticulously groomed and maintained.
The carousel and
building with full kitchen facilities are available for rental.
For information on
operating times and/or rentals access their web site at https://www.republicwa.org/event/ferry-county-fair-2/
or call 509-775-3146.
We wish to thank
Marcus Johnston and Vera Johnston, Fair and Fairgrounds Managers, for taking
valuable time from their day to show us the carousel and relate some of its
history. Republic and Ferry County are lucky to have such dedicated custodians
of this historic and classic carousel.
For Further
Information:
Ferry County Fair
http://ferrycountyfair.com/historic-carousel
http://www.ferrycounty.com/ferry-county-fair-carousel/
The National Carousel Association
https://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html
Rounding Boards
Scenery Panels
Seattle
Woodland Park Zoo
Philadelphia
Toboggan Company’s 1918 carousel #45 lives at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. The
carousel is a 3-row with 28 jumpers, 20 standers and 2 chariots. Most, if not
all, of the horses were carved by John Zalar. The horses have elaborate
trappings and many secondary carvings. The carousel is meticulously maintained
and housed in a beautiful solar pavilion.
John Zalar
The carousel
resided at the Cincinnati Zoological Society in Ohio from 1918 until 1975 when
it moved to Paramount’s Great America in Santa Clara, California where it
remained until 1995. The carousel was in storage until 2006 when it was
purchased by Tom and Linda Allen of the Alleniana
Foundation and donated to Woodland Park Zoo.
There is no band
organ.
For information on
operating times access their web site at www.zoo.org/exhibits/carousel
or call 206-548-2500.
For Further
Information:
The National Carousel Association
https://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html
Woodland Park Zoo
https://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=153
Scenery Panels
Rounding Boards
Spokane
Riverfront Park
This carousel is a
beautiful 1909 Looff, park model, 3-row with 54 jumpers, one giraffe, one tiger
and 2 chariots. Four of the horses are armored and the tiger is “sneaky”. There
are many secondary carvings, and the trappings are beautiful and elaborate. It
has an operational ring arm which uses plastic rings. The carousel is listed in
the National Register of Historic Places.
The carousel was
originally in Natatorium Park in Spokane until 1967 when the park closed. When the
owner of Natatorium Park, Lloyd Vogel, died in 1965, the park was inherited by
William Oliver, the park’s electrician and handyman. He offered to sell the
carousel to the county for $40,000, but the county refused. Spokane’s Parks and
Recreation Department’s director, Bill Fearn, convinced the department to
purchase the carousel which became known as “Fearn’s Folly”. After being in storage for several years, the
carousel operated in Riverfront Park’s Bavarian Beer Garden left over from Expo
’74 until 2018 when a beautiful glass rotunda was built.
The band organ is
a 1900 Ruth and Sohn.
For information on
operating times access their web site at www.spokanecarrousel.org or call 509-625-6600.
For Further
Information:
http://discoveryrobots.org/spokanehistory/natatorium.html
The Spoksman-Review
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/aug/25/50-years-on-remembering-spokanes-natatorium-park/
The National Carousel Association
https://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html
The “Sneaky” Tiger
Secondary Carvings
