Very interesting, thanks for sharing!!! The big question now, is: are these two amusements still being stored? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Ferris Wheel could be installed along the boardwalk, and the original Palace carousel could be installed in the Carousel House at the Casino? Wow.
Jenni -----Original Message----- From: AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of wernerapnj Sent: Saturday, October 15, 2011 9:27 PM To: AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com Subject: [AsburyPark] A Bit of History... or... Missed Opportunities... 1888 Carousel House and Palace Recent History By G. DOROTHY SABATINI June 8, 2004 In the summer of 1998, a hundred years after the carousel house within the Palace Amusements building was constructed, a story broke of its eminent demolition. A vast curiosity caught hold of some prior residents and visitors to the Jersey Shore regarding this 1888 treasure. Due to a quote in an article about the pending demolition, Asbury Park Historical Society founder, Werner Baumgartner, was contacted by a number of individuals who were interested in doing whatever they could to help save one of the last pieces of the history of Asbury Park. Greg Raymer, of Colorado, was one of the interested parties. In speaking with Baumgartner, he said he had been in contact with the Mississippi theme park owners who purchased the Ferris wheel from Henry Vaccaro. According to Raymer, the park was closing and selling the Ferris wheel. It was being sold for $5,000 and the theme park had a possible purchaser willing to pay $4,000." Raymer was a frequent visitor to the shore area, and especially to Asbury Park. He loved the shore so much that he created a Jersey Shore themed pizza restaurant in Colorado. On a trip to the theme park in Mississippi where the Ferris wheel and carousel were being dismantled and sold, he made a videotape of the still-standing Ferris wheel, which he forwarded to Baumgartner. The Ferris wheel, along with the original carousel, had been sold to the park in 1989. Raymer said because the park was closing, the items needed to remove by October 30, 1998. Another interested party, a Long Branch resident, who contacted Baumgartner after he heard the Ferris wheel was up for sale, said he was willing to donate $2,500 to the historical society for the repurchasing of the Ferris wheel because he "would like to see Asbury Park have a part of its history returned." In the meantime, an unnamed benefactor, who had serious resources, came forward and contacted Baumgartner about saving the Ferris wheel, and possibly the Palace Amusements building itself. Baumgartner showed the videotape Raymer made to this businessman and he became very interested in preserving these historical landmarks of Asbury Park. The, aforementioned, benefactor sent representatives to the site to assess what needed to be done in order to dismantle and pack up the Ferris wheel for transport. After which Mr. Benefactor began serious negotiations with the owner, Mr. Williams, to purchase the wheel. Williams informed him he also had the original carousel up for sale. At the time, the benefactor did not want any publicity interfering in the situation, so he asked Baumgartner not to reveal his name, until he was able to secure the purchases. Williams and Mr. Benefactor agreed on a purchase price for both items. Mr. Benefactor wanted to store them at one of his properties in Monmouth County until he could find a suitable place to erect them in Asbury Park where they belonged. Of course, the most suitable place would be the Palace Amusements Building. Though the fate of the building was still precarious, Mr. Benefactor was also considering negotiating with Mr. Carabetta (owner at the time), and the City, regarding purchasing the building. During the first week in December 1998, Mr. William Sitar, the CEO of Sitar Company, came forward and announced that his efforts of the previous several months to bring Asbury Park's Ferris wheel, and carousel, back to New Jersey had finally paid off. It took four tractor-trailers to load all the parts, and within a week the convoy arrived in Tinton Falls with the items, where they have been stored on the site of one of Mr. Sitar's properties, the Twin Brooks Golf Center. Through the combined efforts of these individuals, William Sitar, owner of a large real estate company, as well as other businesses in NJ, Gregory Raymer, owner of the "Boardwalk Cafe and Pizzeria," a Jersey Shore themed business in Colorado, Werner Baumgartner, historian, and founder of the Asbury Park Historical Society, the original Ferris Wheel and carousel, which once stood inside the Palace Amusements building for almost 100 years returned to the Jersey Shore, after ten years in a Mississippi Theme Park. Speaking of the wheel, it isn't really a "Ferris" wheel. The original carousel pavilion, a 100 foot square structure part of the Palace Amusements building, was built to house the Kingsley St. Merry-Go-Round, in 1888 by Ernest Schnitzler, the original proprietor of the carousel. In 1895 Schnitzler constructed a giant vertical moving wheel and observatory. This "Round About and Observatory" has since become known as a "Ferris" Wheel after George W. Ferris who built the largest one in the world two years earlier for the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Ernest Schnitzler wanted everyone to have a chance to see the City from the highest point possible. As the wheel went around the cars would stop at a landing on the tower where you could get out and climb the flight of stairs to the top of the Observatory. From this spot one could see a fabulous view of the entire area. According to Norman D. Anderson, author of "Ferris Wheels: an Illustrated History", and the country's foremost authority on Ferris wheels, our wheel was the oldest operable one (in 1998) in the United States, being patented by Mr. Schnitzler in 1895. Today the carousel is once again up for sale, and, ironically, the Palace Amusements is again slated for demolition. Proving the point that history does repeat itself. Baumgartner says, "The ideal situation would be to preserve the Ferris wheel and carousel for future generations to enjoy at the rightful home, the original 1888 carousel house. This could be the start of a heritage tourism destination for Asbury Park to build upon." ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------------------ Yahoo! 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