The Silver Beach Carousel, with its
brass ring machine and forty-four hand
carved, life-like horses began thrilling
crowds of visitors in 1910. The three-row, Coney Island-style machine was built by
Fred Dolle of North Bergen, New Jersey. It was sold to Silver Beach owners Louis Wallace and Logan Drake.
It was operated at Silver Beach by a partnership
of Fred Dolle and another carousel builder
M. D. Borelli.
The wonderful horses were purchased
from Charles Carmel, one of the acknowledged "Master
Carvers" of the Golden Age of the
carousel. Charlotte Dinger in the The
Art of the Carousel praises Carmel as
having "created what many believe
to be the most perfect carousel horse,
a harmonious balance of gentleness and
drama."
In the early 1920’s, the carousel
was immensely popular with visitors and
efforts were made to keep the technology
of the machine "cutting
edge" and add to the impressive
decor of the machine. In early 1920 the
carousel was converted into a "jumping
machine", with eight pairs of jumping
horses replacing 16 inner-row standers.
M. D. Borelli and his wife visited the
carousel in 1924, spending several months
adding their trademark bejeweled decorations
to the horses.
The Silver Beach Amusement Company purchased
full ownership of the carousel and band
organ from Fred Dolle's window and M.D.
Borelli in November of 1930. During a facelift in the early 1940’s, the horses took on the well-known, all-white bejeweled appearance. During a planned repainting of the carousel, the painter died, leaving the horses in their white primer. When a replacement artist was hired, only the trappings and secondary carvings were painted. This magical look was later adopted for the Disney carousels, thinking
that it sped the rider's selection process
when loading the ride.
The park’s founder and remaining owner, Logan Drake, passed
away on September 27th, 1947 leaving
the park to his daughter Rebecca and
her husband, "Chief Terrill".
Although loss by fire was the fate of numerous operating carousels, the Silver Beach Carousel operated continuously until the park closed in 1971 due to declining attendance, deteriorating structures, and social issues.
Marianne Stevens of Roswell, New Mexico,
a founding member of the National Carousel
Association and the American Carousel
Society, co-author of Painted Ponies,
a renowned collector, restorer, and owner
of carousels, was contacted by “Chief
Terrill”. Marianne had run an ad
in the trade publication Amusement
Business, offering to purchase vintage
carousels. She visited the St. Joseph
area in 1972 and in the following year,
she purchased the Silver Beach Carousel.
In 1997, individuals interested in returning the original carousel to its home formed the Silver Beach Carousel Society, Inc., and began to promote the idea to the community. They were unable to secure a site and funding for the machine before it was sold in 2003 to a group of businessmen representing the Tri-Cities area of Washington state. The “Three Rivers Carousel”, as the merry-go-round will be known, is currently undergoing figure restoration and a fundraising campaign is underway to purchase the necessary machinery for the carousel’s permanent installation.
Despite the 2003 setback, the Silver Beach Carousel Society repurposed its mission to bring a new, hand-carved and hand-painted carousel to St. Joseph that would include six white and jeweled horses identical to the original machine, along with a variety of unique horses and animal figures designed to delight all ages. As a key attraction for the planned development below the bluff incorporating both sides of Broad Street, the Silver Beach Carousel is expected to welcome its first riders in the fall of 2008.
Silver Beach Carousel - September 1, 1971
(Photograph courtesy Barbara Fahs Charles)
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