The Woodside Park Dentzel Carousel
An iconic Philadelphia carousel that stalled for more than 40 years in storage has received an impressive makeover and returns to its hometown, bringing joy to generations in its own 9,000 square-foot glass pavilion on the east side of Memorial Hall.
Originally operating at Woodside Park—a favorite West Philadelphia amusement park located less than 10 blocks from Memorial Hall—the Woodside Park Dentzel Carousel was built by the Dentzel Carousel Company of the Germantown section of Philadelphia. While the carousel debuted at Woodside Park in 1924, many of the animals on the carousel are much older, dating back to 1908.
The carousel was built “Philadelphia-style,” which means the animals are sculpted in vibrant, lifelike detail. The animals in the outer ring are stationary, while those on the inside rings rise and fall in a slow gallop. There are 52 hand-carved wooden animals in the menagerie, including 40 horses, four cats, two pigs, two goats and four rabbits. Dentzel’s head carver, Salvatore Cernigliaro, was famous for creating and hand-carving the rare “flirting rabbit,” where one paw is lifted up as if the rabbit is waving hello. The “flirting rabbit” on the original Dentzel Carousel is one of only three known to exist in the world. At Please Touch, a replica of the “flirting rabbit” is part of the animal menagerie. The standers, or outside row horses were originally designed and carved by Daniel Muller—considered to be one of the foremost carvers of his time. One of the most intriguing and unique features are the 1,296 lights that illuminate the carousel.
The Dentzel Company was founded in 1870 by Gustav Dentzel, a well-known German master carver who immigrated to the United States and began his business in 1867 in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. After Gustav’s death, his son William took over the company in 1909 until it closed at his death in 1928. The company was then sold to its Philadelphia competitor, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company—still in existence today, producing primarily roller coasters.
The Dentzel Carousel that would find a home at Woodside Park was a favorite of William Dentzel and was used as a sales model. The Dentzels would take potential customers to Woodside Park to view this gem of a carousel, and would very often receive an order for a new one based on its construction and design. William Dentzel, so proud of this carousel, had his initials carved on the lead horse.
Restoration of the animals, paintings, and center support system of all the mechanical parts of the carousel took approximately 20 months with three teams in California, Ohio and North Carolina working on different parts of the extensive project. The team, made up of Todd Goings of Carousels & Carvings in Marion, Ohio, Ed and Adriana Roth of Long Beach, California, and Rosa Regan of North Carolina, has more than 80 years of experience in the care, restoration, maintenance, operation and manufacturing of carousels.
All repairs and applied colors are based on the color palette of similar Dentzel carousels from the 1920s. The 52 intricately hand-carved, multi-colored wooden animals were individually restored along with two chariots, and 18 beveled mirrors which are each surrounded by a clown head, decorated with acanthus leaves. Hand-carved roses, cherubs, jewels, beads and intricate latticework which ornament the carousel also needed to be repaired and painted. Please Touch Museum’s Senior Exhibit Designer Lorna Kent painted the eight drum panels for the carousel over a period of three months. The panels show images of Woodside Park as it appeared in the 1920s.
The carousel is housed in a new glass and steel pavilion on the east side of Memorial Hall. The new structure is decorated with an important piece of carousel history: the original Dentzel Carousel Company sign from the factory building on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia.
Riding in Circles: 10 Blocks in 40 Years
After Woodside Park closed in 1955, the carousel was saved from oblivion by Frederick Fried, a carousel enthusiast, who put it in storage for several years until he briefly loaned it to the Music Circus in Lambertville, New Jersey. In 1965, the Smithsonian Institution purchased the carousel from Fried, with intent to refurbish and install it for use on the National Mall, near the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. The plan never came to fruition and for almost 40 years, the Woodside Park Dentzel Carousel remained in storage. A few of the characters were removed and placed on display at the National Museum of American History. In 2002, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission took ownership with plans to install the Dentzel Carousel outside the State Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
In 2005, Please Touch Museum acquired the Woodside Park Dentzel Carousel on a long-term loan from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The carousel returned to Philadelphia in August 2008, in preparation for the October grand opening of Please Touch Museum at Memorial Hall.