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Long Branch Park was an amusement park at the turn to the previous century. They had a ferris wheel, all sorts of rides, carousel,etc. At the turn of the century much of the northwest shore had hotels and resorts for the wealthy to retire and relax by the lake. A trolley from Syracuse had a line to this northwest corner of the lake area to carry passengers to Long Branch Park. In 1908, a tornado came through destroying most the park. The Amusement Park never really recovered, and supposedly was sold.

CAROUSEL RICH IN HISTORY

Carousel No. 18 Philadelphia Toboggan Company - 1909 Carousel Center - 1990 Carousel No. 18 was the eighteenth carousel ever made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). Originally carved and manufactured in 1909 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, PTC No. 18 had an eighty-one-year journey before finally coming to Carousel Center (in Syracuse) on October 15, 1990. The 42 horses on PTC No. 18 were all hand-carved by Leo Zoller, PTC's master carver. According to company records, it took a year to complete the carving, for which Mr. Zoller was paid $1000. The carousel was then shipped to amusement parks in Louisville, Kentucky; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Erie, Pennsylvania. In the mid-1920's, Carousel No. 18 was sent back to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company to be repaired and redecorated using the very bright, contrasting colors that were typical of the era. In 1926 (?), after refurbishing, it was brought to Long Branch Park in Syracuse, New York, where it stayed for fifteen years (even after the park closed in 1938).

In 1941, it was purchased for Roseland Park in Canandaigua, New York. PTC No. 18 was Roseland's third carousel and its last. It ran at Roseland for 43 years until the park closed, forever, on Labor Day - September 2, 1985. Two weeks later, on September 16th, a parkwide auction climaxed with the selling of the 76-year old carousel.

CAROUSEL AUCTIONS At carousel auctions, there is usually an attempt to keep the carousel intact: after each piece has been sold individually to the highest bidders at the sale, the auctioneers total up all the final bids and add 20% to the total. The entire carousel is then offered up for bid at this price. Roseland Park's carousel - the original PTC No. 18 - was saved by the Pyramid Companies of Syracuse, New York, who purchased the entire ride for $397,500.

BRINGING BACK THE BEAUTY It took nearly two years to restore PTC No. 18 to its original beauty. All the horses had to be stripped of their many coats of paint, then repaired, primed, repainted in their original 1909 colors, and varnished. Every picture had to be professionally cleaned and restored, and new, wide-planked oak flooring had to be made, along with all new brass poles and fixtures. The mechanism that turns the carousel had to be totally rebuilt, including recasting the metal gears, joints and jumping poles. The entire carousel was then rewired with a new, up-to-code electrical system, and its hundreds of lights were replaced. The band organ, which was barely operating, had to be completely taken apart and overhauled. New components had to be created, lost connections had to be found, and the complicated instrument had to be tuned. A new center housing enclosure for the band organ, the center pole and the motor had to be built, and then decorated with mirrors, flowers and gold leaf - and all the work had to be done by hand. It was a painstaking project, but it was worth it. All colors, materials and details in this carousel are faithful to the 1909 original. In all respects, it is an authentic restoration of American folk art of which the community can be very proud. Since 1909, Carousel No. 18 from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company has brought joy and laughter to four generations of families, sweethearts and children. MAY THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN.

THE PYRAMID COMPANIES CAROUSEL CENTER OCTOBER 15, 1990 Facts & Figures: Carousel No. 18 has 42 horses, arranged three abreast, in 16 groups. Thirty-eight of the horses are "jumpers" rather than "standers," which means they move up and down instead of being stationary. The outside-row horses are called the carousel's "lead" horses and, because they are the most visible, they are more lavishly decorated than the middle- and inside-row horses. The outside-row lead horses are the biggest horses on the carousel. Carved from solid wood, each one weighs about 225 pounds. Middle-row horses weigh about 150 pounds each. Inside-row horses are the smallest and weigh about 100 pounds each. The center pole of the carousel stands between 25 and 26 feet high, and the entire carousel from the platform up - is suspended from the center pole. The carousel is 54-feet in diameter, and it weighs nearly 30 tons!