Historic Oregon carousel made merry once more

A whimsical piece of Oregon history is coming back to life, thanks in part to a grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust. The National Neon Sign Museum will oversee the restoration of the 1921 C. W. Parker Jantzen Beach Carousel, a fixture of yesteryear's Jantzen Beach Amusement Park.

Known as "The Coney Island of the West," the park once drew hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, but shut down operations in 1970. The carousel was later refurbished and installed in the Jantzen Beach Center Mall, where it remained until 2012. After plans for the mall's remodel fell through, the carousel was disassembled and put in storage.

As Restore Oregon led an effort to find a new home for the carousel, David Benko, the founder and executive director of the National Neon Sign Museum in The Dalles, saw an opportunity. Returning the carousel to its original "roaring twenties" grandeur felt like a natural extension of his work restoring old signs at the museum.

"We want this carousel to not only be beautiful, but historically accurate and educational," Benko says.

Currently, the team is assembling a crew of woodworkers and volunteers to carry out the restoration. Once the carousel is refurbished, it will be fully operational and open to the public.

Story by Max Tapogna