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Dentzel Menagerie Carousel (Ontario Beach Park)

Ride in the United States
Dentzel Menagerie Carousel
Ontario Beach Park
Location Rochester, New York, USA
Showman / operator City of Rochester and Monroe County
Status Operating since 1905
Statistics
Manufacturer Dentzel Carousel Company
Product Menagerie
Type
Capacity 60

The historic Dentzel Menagerie Carousel at Ontario Beach Park was constructed in 1905 by the Dentzel Carousel Company for Ontario Beach Park. It is one of the few remaining Dentzel carousels around the world. The carousel has remained in its original location since construction.[1][2]

The Ontario Beach Park Dentzel Menagerie Carousel's nickname is the "Duchess".[3]

Design

The Dentzel Menagerie Carousel features 22 Jumping Horses, 11 Standing Horses, 19 Menagerie Animals (3 Cats, 1 Deer, 1 Giraffe, 1 Goat, 1 Lion, 2 Mules, 3 Ostriches, 3 Pigs, 3 Rabbits, 1 Tiger), and 2 chariots with seating for 4 in each chariot.

The animals are arranged in three rows along a two tiered platform design. There is no canopy covering the top of the carousel.[1][2][4]

Restoration

In 1984 Monroe County embarked on a full restoration of each animal to its original scheme and condition.[1][4]

Controversy

In 2016 one of the artistic shield panels was removed and remitted to the Rochester Museum and Science Center due to racist picinnany imagery of two negatively portrayed African American children. After 111 years the offensive imagery was removed following a community wide initiative. The Rochester Museum and Science Center was in charge of commissioning a new panel to replace the original. The museum put out a all to local artists to provide designs for a public vote to determine which design would become the new panel. Local artist Michael DeLuca's design featuring a Black Panther was ultimately chosen by the public. An exhibit titled Take It Down! Organizing Against Racism. Objectively Racist: How Objects & Images Perpetuate Racism—And What We Can Do To Change It was launched to educate the public about the issues surrounding the panel and how the community can continue to grow and learn from the past while making changed in the present to insure a more equitable and just future.[5][6]

To learn more about the exhibit and to see an explanation of the historical significance of this undertaking please see the following link to an educational brochure for the Take It Down! exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science Center (RMSC).

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bello, Adam J. (May 28, 2021). "County Executive Bello Announces Opening of Historic Dentzel Carousel at Ontario Beach". Monroe County. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Dentzel Menagerie Carousel". City of Rochester. 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  3. Bartash, Linda M. (2001). Horses In Motion: The History of Carousels in Western New York and Beyond. Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA: Penman Publishing, Inc. pp. 45–60. ISBN 0970764618.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Ontario Beach Dentzel - Carousel Census". National Carousel Association. 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  5. "Take it Down! Organizing Against Racism". Rochester Museum and Science Center (RMSC). 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  6. "Take It Down! Educational Brochure" (PDF). Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC). 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2022.