Jantzen Beach Carousel, Historical carousel in Hayden Island, Portland, United States
The Jantzen Beach Carousel is a four-row park carousel built by C. W. Parker, listed on the National Register of Historic Places from 1987 to 2008 as the C. W. Parker Four-Row Park Carousel. It stood at Jantzen Beach Amusement Park from 1928 and later at the Jantzen Beach Center mall, where it was the only amusement park feature kept after the park was torn down in 1970. It was removed during the mall's 2012 renovation and has since been in storage.
The carousel's origins are disputed: its NRHP nomination and The Oregonian state it was built around 1904 by Charles Wallace Parker in Abilene, Kansas, for the St. Louis World's Fair, while the Oregon Historical Society and its owners say it was made in 1921 for the Venice Amusement Pier in Venice Beach, California. Repossessed for non-payment in 1924, it was stored, then bought and moved to Portland for the 1928 opening of Jantzen Beach Amusement Park. The park was demolished in 1970 and replaced by the Jantzen Beach Center mall, which kept the carousel; it was removed during a 2012 renovation.
The carousel's name comes from Jantzen Beach Amusement Park, opened in 1928 by the swimwear company Jantzen. It was the only amusement park feature kept when the park became the Jantzen Beach Center mall in 1970. Since 2012 it has been in storage, and Restore Oregon listed it among Oregon's Most Endangered Places.
The carousel is not on public display: it was removed from Jantzen Beach Center in 2012 and held in storage there for about 15 years. In 2017 it was donated to Restore Oregon, which in September 2023 announced a new home at the National Neon Sign Museum in The Dalles, where a pavilion was planned to house it.
The carousel's origin is disputed: its NRHP nomination and The Oregonian state it was built around 1904 for the St. Louis World's Fair, while the Oregon Historical Society and its owners say 1921 for the Venice Amusement Pier in California. It was repossessed for non-payment in 1924, then moved to Portland for the 1928 opening of Jantzen Beach Amusement Park.
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