About The Carousel
The carousel figures are excellent representatives of American carousel art, and this carousel is a classic example of a machine assembled during the Depression, primarily from parts of earlier carousels, to meet demand as amusement areas once again gained popularity in the 1930s.
The Floyd L. Moreland Carousel is significant as the sole survivor of all of the carousels that dotted the New Jersey coastline before World War II. It is believed that the Moreland Carousel was in place on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk by 1937.
There is physical evidence that it was assembled from parts. There is also an association with Burlington Park on Burlington Island, NJ. Perhaps some of the figures were once part of a carousel that operated there.
By 1940, the Moreland Carousel was surrounded by multiple pools and bathhouses. The Boardwalk flourished in the mid-20th century, especially between 1958 and 1988.
The Carousel has four rows of figures, as well as two chariots. Eighteen of the figures, all of the outer row, are G. A. Dentzel horses, a lion, and a tiger, created between the 1890s and 1909 in Germantown, Philadelphia, PA. Dentzel was a pioneer maker of American carousels. Many other figures were crafted by Charles I.D. Looff, another pioneer carousel manufacturer. Other horses are in the style of three major Brooklyn-based carvers: M.C. Illions, Charles Carmel, and Stein & Goldstein, who all carved figures for W. F. Mangels Carousell Works, maker of the frame and major mechanical elements of the Moreland Carousel. In addition to the figures, eighteen upper inner facades retain their original scenic oil paintings. The style and subjects are typical of carousel makers in the early twentieth century, including mountain trails with Indians and cowboys, elegant boats on the high seas, and beaches and icy streams.
In 1984 the then owner of Casino Pier considered selling the Carousel. At that time, Dr. Floyd L. Moreland, a City University of New York (CUNY) professor who had ridden the Carousel at Casino Pier every summer as a child and operated it summers throughout college and graduate school, wrote to the owners asking if he could run the Carousel on the weekends during its final season. Ultimately, by the end of that season, the owners decided not to sell the Carousel after all. From 1984 to about 1990, over winter weekends, Moreland, with family and friends, repainted the entire Carousel, orchestrated needed repairs, and upgraded the lighting system. The owner of the pier honored Moreland for his effort by officially naming it the Floyd L. Moreland Carousel.
The hand-carved wooden carousel – the centerpiece of amusement parks – had its golden age in the United States in the pre-Depression era. Now recognized as an important art form, the wooden animals revolving under an elaborately carved and painted canopy have assumed their place in the history of American folk art.
Out of some 10,000 wooden carousels that turned in this country earlier in the century, a little over 200 survive. Many have been destroyed by fire, storm, and neglect; others have been broken up and the pieces sold in art galleries to private collectors; parts of still others are displayed in museums.
The Floyd L. Moreland Carousel, over 100 years old, is one of the vintage machines of the golden era. A museum piece in itself, it still whirls on the Seaside Heights boardwalk to bring delight to young and old alike. Especially significant is that the music is provided by an authentic Wurlitzer Band Organ. Most carousels today play recorded music. Much care is taken to be sure that the snare and base drums, the cymbals, and the hand-made wooden organ pipes play in vintage condition, so they sound just as they did many, many years ago.
The 58 animals, 36 of which move up and down, are all hand-carved by a variety of master craftsmen. Since more than one carver created the ride, it is called a “mixed machine.” Although most of the figures are horses, the carousel is classified as a “menagerie” since it has two camels, a lion, a tiger, and a prized donkey.
Seaside Heights is proud of its carousel and is pleased to offer its friends this bit of magical nostalgia.