• Home

Still A Dreamer

Life, art, animals, writing, children's books, dreaming …

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« No Coincidences – the Komodo Dragon Comes Home
The Candy Cane Cartel »

Jane’s Carousel – Magic in Brooklyn

December 10, 2011 by still a dreamer

If you think carousels are one of the most magical creations of man, raise your hand. Really. Put it up. I thought so. You and me both.

So I expect you will be as excited as I was to learn that Jane’s Carousel gave its first ride on September 16, 2011. The carousel was manufactured by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (P.T.C.) in 1922, and was designated as  P.T.C. 61. It was originally installed in Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio, once a prosperous steel manufacturing city. The carousel fell on hard times, and in 1984, Jane and David Walentas purchased the carousel, in poor condition, to prevent it from being sold off piecemeal.

Jane has been lovingly restoring the carousel ever since.  Located in Brooklyn Bridge Park on the East River, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, P.T.C. 61 couldn’t look more magnificent. It is housed in a square, acrylic pavilion designed by Pulitzer prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel. Jane’s years of work and the creation of its location and housing were all undertaken at the personal expense of Jane and her husband. Jane’s Carousel is their gift to the people of the city of New York. And what a gift it is.

However there’s one more truly magical element to this carousel. It’s what happens at night. Once every hour, the carousel starts on its own. Backlit from the center of the carousel, the horses’ shadows are thrown on the walls of the acrylic pavilion. Take a look.

To see the beautiful carvings and detail of the horses themselves, watch this YouTube video. The opening section gives you views from a distance and the dedication by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others. The film of the horses themselves begins at about 7:45, set to music a real joy to watch.

Jane and David Walentas, thank you for this extraordinary and magical gift. The history of the carousel and all the work that went into its restoration as well as details on visiting and taking a ride can be found at the Jane’s Carousel web site.

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Art, Creativity, Inspiration | Tagged Brooklyn, carousel, carousel horses, Jane Walentas, Jane's Carousel, Jean Nouvel, NY, P.T.C.61, Philadelphia Toboggan Company | 2 Comments

2 Responses

  1. on December 11, 2011 at 2:13 pm Felicia Chernesky

    Jeanne–

    As always, a lovely, thoughtful, and inspiring post.

    I, too, love carousels and have been interested in their history for many years. (We even have an abandoned carousel horse in the basement waiting for the time to be restored properly.)

    Thanks for sharing this. We go out of our way to visit carousels and I like to know their individual stories. A new trip to plan!

    Felicia

    LikeLike


  2. on December 11, 2011 at 8:24 pm stilladreamer

    I would LOVE to plan a trip!!! Woo Hoo!
    jeanne

    LikeLike



Comments are closed.

  • My 1st Picture Book!

  • What I’m Reading Now

  • What I’m Also Reading …

  • Like what you see? Sign up and get an e-mail when I've posted something new.

  • Recent Posts

    • Missing Writing
    • The Season
    • Unexpected
    • Happy Halloween!
    • Where We’re Going
    • Creative Life
    • Drawing Angels
    • Win A Signed Copy of Butterflies!
    • Time Passes ….
    • My Dad
  • I write about ...

    Animals Art Authors Books Cats Children's Books Creativity food French Bulldogs Good Reads Helping Out Holidays Home Stuff Illustration Inspiration Just Fun Life Metaphysical Nature Novels Photography Reflections Society Spiritual Writing

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Still A Dreamer
    • Join 151 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Still A Dreamer
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: