The wheel was sold and transported to Phoenixville Pennsylvania, where it was
originally built by the Phoenix Iron Works. It is being restored as a static
display to honor the heritage of the community as part or their redevelopment
project.
In spite of my enormous disappointment that the Palace, Wheel and Carousel were
not given a chance to make Asbury Park a better place, I am thankful that the
oldest vertical wheel in the United States will survive to be seen instead of
sold for scrape.
As far as I know the Carousel is still in storage. Years ago, Mr. Sitar and
myself determined that it would fit inside the Casino Carousel House. A tight
fit considering it is a 4 row machine compared to the Casino's original 3 rows.
It would need a lot of restoration, which is why I recently suggested that a
'work in progress' carousel would be appropriate for the Casino House. Which,
by-the-way, it recognized as the finest such facility in the country.
There is a lot of misunderstanding regarding amusement rides on the boardwalk.
They would be very inappropriate from a historic context as well as being
expensive to maintain, too seasonal, expensive to insure, etc.
Other boardwalks have evolved with a critical mass of such entertainments that
lowers the overall operating costs relative to the cash flow generated.. Point
Pleasant, Seaside, Wildwood.. are defined by their amusement park atmosphere.
Asbury Park would do well to embrace classic/historic amusements such as the
Pinball Museum, Carousel, Wesley Lake boat rides, etc...
Werner
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "Jenni" <jenni@...> wrote:
>
> 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
>
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