Carowinds- Charlotte, North Carolina

Carowinds was the brainchild of a North Carolina entrepreneur. It opened on March 31, 1973 as one of the many new parks to blossom during the theme park boom of the Seventies. The park had the standard assortment of flat rides and even bought the token Arrow Development mine train. Like most theme parks of the era the park bought an antique carousel. However, this one was different in that it was a double-decker machine from Germany. That carousel lasted only through the first season at Carowinds and then was put into storage. Six years later the park acquired another used machine, this one a four-row ride from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (number 67).

Aside from the paint job Carowinds keeps this machine in great working condition.

Little is known about this machine, which is tucked away in the Animation Station children's section of Paramount's Carowinds. According to Charles Jacques Junior's book, The Carousels of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, this carousel originally opened on the property of the Nehi Bottling Company in Evansville, Indiana. Our guess is that either this was a park the soda's owners created for their employees or it the machine was open to the public and sat next to the factory. According to the National Carousel Association the machine spun at Pleasure Park in Evansville from 1923 to 1936 and Mesker Park in Evansville from 1936 through 1973, when it was then presumably bought by Taft. I have found no further records to indicate whether Jacques or the NCA is correct. The machine was then reportedly sold to Taft Broadcasting in Cincinnati (at the time the owners of Carowinds) and installed at Carowinds in 1979. The ride was part of a $3,000,000 investment in the new County Fair themed area. While the park has given it a paint job consisting of pastels that at times is unattractive the ride is in very good shape. In fact, the P.T.C. logo is still on several of the horses and the chariots. It remains a popular attraction with families. The carousel has found new life as more parents and their children have come to the park with the 2003 family-oriented installations.


The ride features two beautifully carved chariots.	The carousel anchors the park's Animation Station area.	The beautiful horses still look great, even 70 years after they opened. Note the P.T.C. logo on the horses' saddle.

Carousels are loved by people of all ages.		This is the more beautiful of the two chariots and has beautiful P.T.C. lettering beneath the cherubs.