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Posts Tagged ‘carousel’

Black Friday Shopping: Coney Island Kiddie Rides for Sale

Posted in Amusement ride, tagged carousel, Coney Island, Ferris wheel, kiddie ride, used rides on November 23, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Kiddie Ferris Wheel at McCullough’s Kiddie Park, Coney Island. June 14, 2008. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Black Friday is here and it’s time to shop for toys to put under the Christmas tree. If the tree is growing in your backyard, a kiddie ride would fit just fine though you’d better check zoning regulations. Generations of kids have grown up riding this little Ferris Wheel at McCullough’s Kiddie Park on the Bowery at West 12th Street in Coney Island, but now it’s for sale. As previously reported by ATZ, the family-owned park closed in September after fifty years when the owners weren’t able to come to a lease agreement with property owner Thor Equities. The park’s rides are being offered for sale by usedrides.com. The Wheel is ten grand and the much-photographed Bumblebees are $42,000. Among the other rides are a Mini-Himalaya ($17,000), Alan Herschell Carousel ($50,000) and Zamperla Rockin’ Tug ($42,000). The rides were moved to the broker’s lot in Greer, South Carolina.

Although McCullough’s Kiddie Park has operated on 12th Street since the 1960s, the family’s history in Coney Island goes back much further. Four generations of McCulloughs have owned and operated amusement rides here. They are related to the Tilyou family of Steeplechase Park as well as to the Stubbmann family, whose Coney Island carousel became part of the one in Flushing Meadows. The McCulloughs are also the former owners of the B&B Carousell, which will reopen in Coney Island’s new Steeplechase Plaza next year. It’s sad that McCullough’s is closing and that Coney is losing another indie operator. They will be missed and so will their bees. But Coney Island isn’t losing all of its kiddie rides: Deno’s Kiddie Park on the Boardwalk has 17 rides for children, including the beloved Mangels Pony Cart and Fire Engine, and will reopen in the spring.

Bumble Bees and Herschell Carousel at McCullough’s Kiddie Park, Coney Island, September 3, 2012. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

Coney Island Carousel Horse Naming Contest: Cotton Candy vs Ravishing Ruby?

Posted in Amusement ride, historic preservation, tagged B & B Carousell, carousel, Coney Island, contest, Economic Development Corporation, NYCEDC, Partners in Preservation on May 6, 2012 | 1 Comment »

The B&B Carousell’s first restored horse returns to Coney Island! Photo © Coney Island History Project via flickr

This sweet pony, the first restored horse from the B&B Carousell, looks happy to be back in Coney Island! What’s his or her name? That will be up to the popular vote on Facebook. At the moment “Cotton Candy” and “Ravishing Ruby” are the front runners. “Home Sweet Home,” “Thunderbolt,” “Tornado,” and “In Memory of Mike Saltzstein,” who operated the carousel for decades, are some of the other suggested names.

There’s also “William,” for the carousel’s builder William F Mangels, and “Marcus,” for Marcus Illions, the carver of the lead horse. This horse, as well as the others, was carved by Charles Carmel.

The name “Ravishing Ruby” is being championed by Brooklyn-born actress Annabella Sciorra, who writes on her Facebook page: “They’re looking to name the first restored carousel horse in Coney Island. If you like my page please vote for the name ‘Ravishing Ruby’ after one of my best friends who grew up on the beaches of Coney Island!!” Ravishing Ruby is also the title of a country song from the ’70s! Our guess is that some who are voting for the name are associating it with Coney’s beloved Ruby’s Bar and Grill.

“Cotton Candy” is a cute choice, but please be advised if it wins that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to bring actual cotton candy on the ride.

Inspired by the creative names of the horses at the Kentucky Derby, which was run yesterday, ATZ’s choice is “Home Sweet Home.” We think it’s the perfect name since this B&B horse is the first to come home to Coney from Ohio, where the carousel has been undergoing restoration, after an absence of seven years. Go, Go, Go, Home Sweet Home!

As for “Mikey” or “In Memory of Mike Saltzstein,” we agree with a commenter on the voting page who writes: “May the last horse in be named ‘In Memory of Mike Saltzstein.’ Mike kept those horses going … God rest his soul.”

Today is the second and final day of the B&B Carousell Open House presented by the City’s Economic Development Corporation at the Coney Island History Project, where you can get your picture taken with the horse and cast your vote in person. If you live too far away to visit, you can still vote on Facebook to name the horse.

The B&B Carousell is also in a very competitive online horse race with 40 historic properties for a share of $3 million from Partners in Preservation. New Yorkers as well as anyone who loves New York may cast one vote daily on the Partners in Preservation New York City website or via Facebook, smartphone or tablet.

UPDATE May 7, 2012:

Congratulations to Dano Panariello, who suggested the name “Ravishing Ruby” in honor of his mother! The Open House and the naming contest are over, but everybody please remember to vote for the B&B Carousell every day thru May 21 at Partners in Preservation, where it is in a horse race to win a grant.

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Coney Island Carousel Vying for Online Votes to Win Grant

Posted in Amusement ride, historic preservation, tagged B & B Carousell, carousel, Competition, Coney Island, Coney Island History Project, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Partners in Preservation on April 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Last night the Empire State Building was lit up blue and white in honor of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It was a prelude to this morning’s announcement that New York City has been selected as the location for Partners in Preservation 2012. American Express, in partnership with the National Trust, will award $3 million to preserve historic places in New York City. Coney Island’s B & B Carousell is one of 40 competitors vying for your online vote.

From April 26 through May 21, New Yorkers as well as anyone who loves New York may cast one vote daily on the Partners in Preservation New York City website or via Facebook, smartphone or tablet. According to the initiative’s press release, the top four vote-getters, to be announced May 22, are guaranteed to receive grants for their preservation projects. A Partners in Preservation advisory committee of community and preservation leaders will select sites that will receive the rest of the $3 million in grants.

On May 5 and 6, the Coney Island History Project is hosting a “B & B Carousell Open House” where the first restored horse will be on display along with photos of the restoration process and archival images of the carousel. The historic carousel was saved from auction in 2005 when the City purchased it for $1.8 million. The 1919 ride was packed up and moved from its longtime location on the north side of Surf Avenue and sent to Carousels & Carvings in Ohio for restoration.

The Partners in Preservation grant would fund transport and assembly from the restoration in Ohio back to New York. In 2013, the B & B will reopen in a new pavilion next to the Parachute Jump.