We went with friends to the Albany Carousel Museum, which is less of a museum and more of a workshop for the volunteers who are in the midst of a 15 year project to build a traditional Victorian carousel, using a 1909 Dentzel carousel mechanism. (http://www.albanybrassring.com/)
This place is wonderful! The project is about half done, with several finished animals on display at businesses in both Albany and Corvallis. Above Joshua and his friend Alex are seen on the only two animals available for kids to sit on at this time.
It may be hard to see this picture very well, but it's the backside of the two animals shown in the picture above. Just beyond them is the painting area, and you can just make out a large giraffe and several artist renditions of future animals for the carousel. Each animal is sponsored by an individual, family, business or other group. The sponsoring party will meet with the designers and select their animal, giving input on its design. Many of the animals are built with a hollow interior so that personal mementos can be tucked within. One family placed a time capsule inside their animal; another included the dog collar of the dog after whom their carousel animal was modeled.
This room is filled with historical carousel pieces. Just time for a quick shot since the boys were so giddy they were sprinting from room to room. Yeah - chasing each other in a museum...that's greeaat.
This man has been working on his black buck for a few years. The family that sponsored this animal raises them.
Actually not a carousel ride but a carnival ride...but when you're four, is there a difference? Sadly, despite watching the volunteer woodworkers and painters doing their detailed, beautiful work, this was probably the highlight of the trip for Joshua and his friend. :)
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