Hand-carved ride celebrates the Gem City’s past
‘This is the only carousel of this kind in the world,’ the CEO of Dayton History says.
Take a spin around Dayton’s history.
The Carousel of Dayton Innovation is an amusement ride at Carillon Historical Park made of 32 hand-carved icons from the Gem City’s past.
“This is the only carousel of this kind in the world,” Brady Kress, president and CEO of Dayton History, said. “No other carousel tells the story of Dayton with its figures.
“There are plenty of carousels around the world that you can get on a glitzy horse and go around in circles, but this is the only place where you’re going to be able to jump on an Iams dog food bag or a cash register.”
Each of the brightly painted wooden figures on the carousel represents a piece of Dayton’s story.
Among the icons spinning around the ride is a larger-thanlife Scipio, the Saint Bernard dog that belonged to Orville Wright; a box of Esther Price chocolates; a Mikesell’s potato-chip bag; and a soap box derby car.
The carousel was designed to appeal to younger park visitors who aren’t allowed to touch the historic artifacts on display elsewhere in the history-soaked park.
“There are a lot of Dayton stories that are fun to ride around on, and kids then have a connection,” Kress said.
Children of all ages can learn about the Gem City’s history of canal boats, the pop-top can and the Huffy Radiobike astride the brightly painted replicas on the carousel.
It took a team of six carvers and seven artists from The Carousel Works, a Mansfield-based company, to create the ride that was installed in the park’s Heritage Center of Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship in 2011.
As it spins to music coming from a calliope, the inside hub of the carousel, detailed with illustrations, tell the Wright brothers’ story from boyhood to their aviation success.
On the exterior are painted scenes created from turn-of-the century illustrations depicting major achievements in Dayton.
“It’s a massive piece of art with all of the hand-painting that was done on the outside,” Kress said. “You can really sit and study it for quite a while. Everything has a tie back to the Miami Valley.”
A ride on the carousel is $1. Visitors with a $100 supporting membership to the park get unlimited carousel rides at no charge.
The carousel is accessible for people with disabilities and has chariots that don’t move up and down. Among them is a large NCR cash register with a hinged seat that allows for a wheelchair.