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Kennywood ParkBy Charles J. JacquesHistory of Kennywood's 1927 Dentzel CarouselIn the 1920s Kennywood almost doubled in size. The park built three new roller coasters, the Jack Rabbit, Pippin, and Racer. It added new rides like the Caterpillar, Tumble Bug, Auto Racer, and Dodgem. In 1926 the principal owners of Kennywood, Andrew McSwigan and Fred Henninger, decided to buy a new carousel. They wanted a larger model to give the park needed ride capacity, but they also want a "high class" machine. McSwigan and Henninger also wanted a big elaborate merry-go-round, so when other owners and managers of amusement parks would visit them, they would see a four or five row machine and know that Kennywood indeed was a "major league amusement park" like those in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. In August 1926 McSwigan sent out a letter to several manufacturers of merry-go-rounds including William H. Dentzel of Philadelphia. In his letter, McSwigan wrote, "We are considering purchasing a large carousel for installation for the 1927 season. We desire some information on your latest type machines of large capacity." Dentzel had just the sort of machine that Kennywood was looking for. The carousel had been intended for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1926 (also known as the Sesquicentennial) but had not been finished in time for use at the Exposition. Also William Dentzel was ill with cancer. He was in an out of the hospital and had even traveled to Europe for the “cure” at the spas in Germany. In any case Dentzel was eager to dispose of this machine. He offered this four-row, fifty-four feet in diameter beauty for just $25,000. The carousel was a real showpiece, as all Dentzel carousels were, and Kennywood got itself a wonderful bargain. The Dentzel factory also allowed $3,500 trade in for the park's old three-row carousel that had been built by T.M. Harton the developer of West View Park. However one expense that the park had not counted on was that the new Dentzel merrygo-round was too big for the park's old carousel pavilion, so Kennywood had to build a new steel-domed carousel pavilion that was manufactured by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Co. The actual agreement for the carousel was signed by McSwigan and Dentzel on September 28, 1926. The new machine was shipped to Kennywood in March 1927 on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Although ill, Dentzel was still able to travel from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to supervise the final installation of his carousel. Kennywood's Dentzel carousel features laughing jester heads, angelic faces, and mirrors on the rounding boards and interior of the machine. There are 72 hard-carved animals made from basswood. They are arranged on four rows on the machine. The outer row has 18 horses, a lion, and tiger (a Dentzel trademark) and then there are three rows with 50 jumpers. There are also four chariots for the young and old on the machine. The carousel is spectacular at night. The merry-go-round is illuminated by 1,400 50-watt Mazda lamps. It was originally advertised by the park as "the largest and most elaborate carousel ever built."
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