Colorado's historic carousels - Brief Article

Sunset, August, 2000 by Claire Martin

Riding the painted ponies of summer

* A snake twines around the neck of a vivid yellow giraffe; a horse wears trappings styled after Napoleonic cavalry gear. The Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, Colorado, is famous for its meticulous detail--not to mention a mighty Wurlitzer Monster Military Band Organ. What better time than the hot, lazy days of August for a breezy spin on one of summer's most magical machines?

This rare carousel, built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC), is worth the 150-mile drive east from Denver. But it hasn't always received the attention it deserves. Shortly after its purchase in 1928, the carousel closed during the Great Depression. It operated in a state of semi-disrepair from 1937 until 1975, when preservationists restored it. Today it is the oldest remaining PTC model, still gleaming in its original paint.

The Kit Carson County carousel is just one of five historic wood carousels left in Colorado. Denver's Six Flags Elitch Gardens owns an impressive old PTC, with ornate Roman chariots and 64 horses, many with flowers in their manes, and tails made of real horsehair. The nearby Lakeside Amusement Park has a 1908 C.W Parker Company carousel boasting chariots, a menagerie (from dragons to lions), and horses with rippling manes.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs has a 1925 model built by the Allan Hershell Company, with jumping horses and chariots. In Pueblo's City Park, across from the zoo, you'll find a hybrid 1911 carousel built by one outfit (the Parker Company) with a menagerie carved by another (Stein & Goldstein); the animals are delightful, as is a rare spinning lovers' tub (a revolving circular seat).

A ride on Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's carousel costs $2; the others cost about 25 cents. All operate through Labor Day Take a spin on each one-you'll get a ride back into childhood.