Port Dalhousie, Ontario
This charmer is another Looff carousel and it’s been in
operation here for years and years. It has celebrated over a hundred years of service, think of that! You’ll be glad to note that the fee for
riding this carousel (and in spite of the fact that I’m, well, shall we say a
large lad I rode on this one twice, damn the expense) is still 5 cents a ride.
The tones of this carousel are more like the wood that they,
the horses, were carved out of. Yes, these are the original horses that were
hand carved, unlike the animals mentioned in the previous blog article. There
are a lot of shades and tones of browns as well as other colours which were
added to the harnesses and to the other animals. It has a rich texture and is
very beautiful. I liked it a lot.
Oh, did I forget to mention, this is a bonus round. The
bonus here is that this carousel is a menagerie. Not quite lions and tigers and
bears, oh my, but it does have lions and camels at least. And don’t forget the
wonderful horses themselves. With real horse hair tails.
It took me a while to find it. I’ve always had a tendency to
get lost in St Catherines, Ontario, and Port Dalhousie is now an offshoot of St
Catherines (and it’s not far from my home town of Niagara Falls) and this day
was no different. I only got lost 5 or 6 times before I found what I was
looking for.
The carousel is located in Lakeside Park, Port Dalhousie
(pronounced Deloozey).
Now I’ve mentioned in the last posting how I was kicked out
of a mall for photographing the carousel there. Here I not only gave the cashier
$5.00 for rides, and got 7 ride tickets for my contribution, (I used two of
them myself and then gave the other 5 away to a mother with her 5 charges), but
I also bought the t-shirt and the posters in order to support the cause, and
after all that I still felt like I had an excellent deal. And I did too.
So this carousel was not as flashy as the other Looff one
but I think it’s a charmer and I hope it continues for many, many more years,
giving lasting memories to the young and young at heart.
You know, I’ve traced where I think my interest in carousels
comes from (see previous blogs), but I don’t think that I mentioned that the
fact that I came from Niagara Falls happens, in my estimation, to be part of
the attraction.
I’ve done postings on the Falls before (and here I should explain that 'the Falls' is the generic term for both city and cataract) but what I don’t think that
I have conveyed properly is that 'the Falls' is part natural wonder and part freak show (and
those who have been on Clifton Hill and walked past the tourist traps will know
what I mean with all the bright lights, glitz, trash and glamour). In one of the compartments of my mental filing system I associate carousels with that whole circus, carnival, amusement, tourist attraction broad category.
So I have developed an affinity for the carousel and it has achieved a special place of honour for me because, well, I think they are classy. They are also harken back to an older and possibly more stylish age. I am glad some of them have survived to work their charm on the young and the old in this most disillusioned time.
So here, on a beach on the shore of Lake Ontario, is
something more beautiful, more graceful and more lasting than much that is the freak show of
Niagara, an enchanting little whirling dervish of an attraction.
It's funny, you know, I never knew this was here while I was growing up. But I know where it is now (sort of).
And again, these pictures were taken by yours truly.
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