Dentzel Carousel Company
from the Weona Park Carousel
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Formerly called
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G.A. Dentzel, Steam and Horsepower Caroussell Builder |
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| Industry | Carousel Builder |
| Successor | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters |
| Founded | 1867 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Founder | Gustav Dentzel |
| Defunct | 1928 |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, United States |
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Key people
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Gustav Dentzel, William Dentzel |
| Products | Carousels |
The G.A. Dentzel Company was an American builder of carousels in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its founder, Gustav Dentzel, had immigrated to the United States in 1860 from Germany. Having carved carousels for his father before immigrating he opened a cabinet making shop on Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia. He soon tired of the cabinet making business and decided to try his hand at building a small portable carousel that he could travel with around the country. After finding that people had a great enthusiasm for his carousel he decided to go into the carousel building business full-time in 1867, hiring other woodworkers who had also emigrated from Europe.
His son William took over the business after Gustav’s death in 1909 and continued making carousels until 1928, with employees such as master-carvers Salvatore “Cherni” Cernigliaro and Daniel Muller. After William's death, Muller went on to form his own carousel company, while the Dentzel equipment and remaining stock were sold to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.
The Woodside Amusement Park Carousel, now at the Please Touch Museum
Lead horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel
Maker's mark on the lead horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel
Row of giraffes on the Broad Ripple Park Carousel
Horse on the Woodside Amusement Park Carousel
Giraffe at the Pullen Park Carousel
Tiger at the Pullen Park Carousel
In mid-2017, an estimate indicated that there may be 150 of the Dentzel units in existence. At that time, a model from 1907, with 52 hand-carved animals, was sold by Centreville Amusement Park in Toronto, Ontario to the city of Carmel, Indiana. The selling price was an estimated CAD $3 million, approximately US $2.25 million. The ride will open in 2018 or 2019 as part of a multi-year downtown redevelopment project.
Operating Carousels (in USA):
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Wikipedia