Jantzen Carousel: The Clock is Ticking

(Restore Oregon)

 Dozens of brightly-painted wooden horses that once comprised the Jantzen Beach carousel are starting now to look like --- white elephants.

 Restore Oregon, a statewide preservation advocacy group, took possession of the dismantled carousel in 2017 hoping to restore its parts and find a new location for it within five years.

 Three years ago, Restore Oregon reached an agreement with the Portland Diamond Project to include the carousel as part of development of a major league baseball stadium.  That agreement has come to an end – and hopes for landing a major league team have yet to reach first base.

 “We want it up and running again,” said Stephanie Brown, the carousel project manager.  “Everyone who loves it wants it up and running again (and that includes the nice folks at PDP.) But full restoration is going to take a few years because we have dozens of horses still in need of repair. The sooner full restoration can begin, the sooner people can enjoy the carousel again.”

 But there is no guarantee that a new home will be found in Portland.  Restore Oregon has talked extensively with public agencies and private developers – and found no serious interest.  Putting it up for sale likely would attract interest and a sale to some other city.

  The 20-ton relic from the early 20th Century entertained family and children from 1928 to 1970 at the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park and then at the Jantzen Beach Mall until 2012.  Plans to return the carnival ride to a revised shopping mall were never carried out.

 After five quiet years in storage, the carousel’s owner donated the deconstructed pieces in 2017 to Restore Oregon.  The September date would mark the end of the sixth year in Restore Oregon’s custody.

 A major challenge to finding a new location is that the carousel, measuring 67 feet in diameter and 29 feet tall, needs to sit in an enclosed building of roughly 10,000 square feet. 

 The carousel, a "Superior Park” model built by the C.W. Parker company, is five years away from its centennial anniversary.  Brown said finding a permanent location is the key to raising enough money to complete its restoration. 

 Newly-built carousels in cities such as Missoula, Montana and Salem have proven popular for adding family-friendly activity within the city.  Somewhere, someday, the same will be said of the historic Jantzen Beach carousel.  But where? 

-----Fred Leeson

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