SFAW Public Auction

I'm told a California museum aquired the carousel, but don't know which one yet.

There are rumblings that there is a group in Houston that is in negotiations to obtain the carousel to keep it there.

Greezed Lightning only bringing $8000 , Even though the reserve was not met, Too think SFNO could use some of these rides after going through Katrina. Our GM should have, could have but probably didn't contact the front office and say it would have been a good fit for some of the rides still left to fill in some of the gaps left open from last season but NO NOT HIM. I would be willing to bet that most of these rides will be shelved rather than finding a good home, But SFNO will not fit the bill , we are in a greenspace Mode, and please, I wish everyone would understand that even though the Inner City of New Orleans is still not back up to its pre Katrina Totals that most if not a huge part of the Day to Day park patrons did not come from N.O but the surrounding suburban areas. So the saying that the park is lacking visitors is a mute point. Watch Blue Bayou/ Dixie Landing Water park suck the life SFNO has out of it and it is close to or over 100 miles away next to Baton Rouge. Many of its patrons will come from the same clientel as SFNO. Mostly because this park has a habit of treating its customers so they will return constantly. SFNO is lacking IMHO a management team that has the savy to accomodate this along with ride aquistions, even used rides from SFAW which as of now has not been the case. Hopefully Chuck Hendrix whom hails from the SFAW park can literally clean house and start with a fresh outlook. He is a aware of what rides are operational and good people movers from the SFAW array of leftovers and hopefully he sees fit to move some over to SFNO. At this point even old used rides would be better than Greenspace which looks to be on a large scale if the rides that are beyond repair are moved. We already have a City park for Greenspace enjoyment. We need a Amusement park , preferably with rides..

Business is business...

I was excited just days before the storm thinking we would get a new used ride or two.

It sucks period that our park was destroyed.

If the reserve was not met then it still belongs to SF.
Why don't you email or write TP and the corporate office about keeping it for SFNO?
(If you han't yet)

I would love to have greezed lightnin!

*** Edited 1/9/2006 1:07:24 AM UTC by calcajun***

IMO, I ain't gonna happen no matter who you contact. What's done is done.

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Fierce Pancake said:
I'm told a California museum aquired the carousel, but don't know which one yet.

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I have no inside information, but I have a hunch it's the Mengei in San Diego. Their focus is folk art, they love carousel art and use it for several icons on their website, and they have a relationship with the Dentzel family, who knew the carousel was being auctioned. The figures they've exhibited (several times) on loan from the Dentzel family just went to a new carousel museum in Oregon, so they were likely on the lookout for a new batch of Dentzel figures. They've also just opened a second museum location, which means they need more exhibits.

They also appear to be financially pretty well set to make acquistions.

Dutchman, watch the papers in SD and let us know if anything shows up. Maybe you'll have another carousel to take care of.

GWH

I do have some inside info, and the last I heard it was pulled from auction because of the Houston group. Considering that Santa Barbara slighted the Dentzel family (a branch of the family lives there) by installing an Allen Herschell machine instead of one of thie ancestors ( like they originally promised) I know they would like to have the memory of Gustave and William honored. If Mengei intends on operating it I'll will defiinitely apply, if the numbers are right. They would probably want to have it restored to factory style paint, that will take a couple of years. Definitely will keep an eye on the media

Calcajan, Been there, Done that. Terry, Ann or Debbie hasn't had the courtesy to reply to me or other individuals that I know submitted Emails. Whereas John Odum has but his answer was very vague but honest. and Yes the e-mail addresses are current and accurate. An yet another sign of lack of compassion or consideration from our SFNO front office. This coming from the City that Care Forgot, that still uses this slogan as its motto! Who would expect anything different.

Dutchman, I painted the scenery panels and rounding boards on the Allen Herschell for Santa Barbara. What it came down to was that the city wanted a carousel immediately and the Dentzel mechanism the Dentzels had would have required over 50 new figures which would have taken the better part of a decade for the younger Dentzel to carve..it was expediency pure and simple. The city advertised in the Carousel News and Trader for an immediately available ready to run antique carousel that would fit into the proposed building. The owners of the Herschell had a 36 foot Herschell that was ready. There were no Dentzel carousels for sale at the time.The Dentzels are slated to open the mechanism they owned in Albany , Oregon ...in 2009 when the new figures are carved. If Santa Barbara had taken them up on the offer Chase Palm Park would still have an empty carousel building as of now, and for several years to come. It was a matter of what was available when.

Besides, a city can run more than one carousel. The Herschell is privately owned..the city didn't want to necessarily own or bankroll a carousel. They just wanted one in the park. Dentzel's was not ready at the right time.

They have opened a Dentzel Museum in Albany, where the carousel will be going. The new figures for the carousel that have been completed are completely contemporary in design, but look great. *** Edited 1/9/2006 4:08:59 PM UTC by ponypainter***

The local news here in detroit(of all places), just said that the coasters would be sold as scrap steel.

I dont know how true that is, but its worth a mention.

Well, It's way too early for talk about those rides anyway.
I am not taking up for six flags, just that everytime I go in the park and see the devastation I realize that right now there is no point in asking for the used rides.
There is so much work to be done and the assesment phase has not even finished yet.

The park is completly destroyed.
The entire park was eight feet under water then add to that wind and flying debris damage.

I don't quite understand what you want or expect at this time.

Every single ride, building, sign, tree and landscaping is damaged by water, wind and flying debris.

*** Edited 1/9/2006 6:02:55 PM UTC by calcajun*** *** Edited 1/9/2006 6:06:44 PM UTC by calcajun***

Ponypainter, the family I worked for once owned the machine that is now in Santa Barbara. We found it sinking into the mud in a kiddie park in Arkansas. They had plans for it, but a change in administrators forced it into storage. We sold it several years later to the Perrons.

The other problem in Santa Barbara was they designed the building before looking at available machines. I know where there is a full size Jester Sheild Dentzel on the West Coast that the owner would have put in there had the building been able to accomadate it. Once the decision was made to use the building plans as is they locked themselves into that size machine.

Dutchman, I forgot all about the Herschell being previously owned by the owner of Seaport Village's first Loof carousel. Now that I think about it, weren't there several of those horses on display in the Seaport carousel building at one point? I painted the scenery for 5 of the Perron's carousels before my fantasy art career took off. Most of the scenery panels on those carousels had long since been painted over before I did paintings for them. I lived in their warehouse for a month at one point while doing some rounding boards so those Herschell horses were literally right outside my door, and I got to know them pretty well. :) ..For those other folks reading this that are interested, the Perrons run a carousel museum in Hood River, OR (International Museum of Carousel Art). They run antique carousels in various locations across the country.

I have to say, it really was sad about the Broadway Flying Horses. Though I was very glad that it wasn't broken up, it was quite a blow to have it just disappear. It really was unfortunate that the city of San Diego didn't have the forsight to buy and keep it running.

I didn't know that there's a whole Dentzel in storage-is that still going anywhere at some point?

I've moved to an area where the nearest antique carousel is 200 miles away. When we travel we try to see whatever local carousels are around now.

Theresa

Yes we had a few pieces sitting in the center for a while. As far as the BFH debaucle, San Diego is very short sighted about many different things. Of course they are now two billion dollars in the hole over the city employee pension mess. The one that we're sweating about now is the Balboa Park machine. I know that the owner has been quietly looking for a buyer for a while now.
Yes there is another big Dentzel sitting in a warehouse in SoCal. The owner is well known in the amusement industry,but only deals with people he knows.I was talking to him about the Santa Barbara deal, because I had seen a copy of the building plans. I can't repeat what he said about it!
The BFH are still hiding, the new owner taking great pains to hide his identity and where the machine will go. Chances are it will never be seen by the general public again.