Allan Appel Photo
Sabrina Bruno welcomed back Sundae Treat along with 25 other splendidly repainted and restored horses in time for this spring’s 100th anniversary celebration of the historic Lighthouse Point Park Carousel.
The five-year $300,000 restoration project cost New Haven taxpayers not a penny.
Bruno, the project and events coordinator for the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Trees, said the money that paid William Finkenstein of Plainville and his family of artisans to do the work all came from rental and other revenue generated by the 70 to 80 weddings, parties, and other events that the carousel attracts each year.
That adds up to about $80,000 that goes into the carousel’s “enterprise fund.”
New Haveners will still pay 50 cents a ride when they return to the carousel, which opens to the public Memorial Day weekend. That income pays for annual operating expenses.
Click here for a previous story on a smaller band of nine flying horses that were restored and returned in April 2008.
After the 26 horses were gingerly unloaded by William Finkensein and his son Gabe, Bruno and parks department heads Bob Levine and Christy Hass marveled at the workmanship.
“The horses are like my children. They glisten so. Knowing that the brides [at events to come] will have their carousel moments, it just brings me joy,” Bruno said.
Gabe Finkenstein and his dad did all the scraping, priming, and repainting by hand. He said that the exterior of each horse — that is, the side that faces out to onlookers — is called “the romantic side.”
“There’s 24-carat gold leaf on the romantic side. It’s always facing the outside. That was carved by the master craftsman and the inside was carved by an apprentice in less detail,” Finkenstein said.
New Haven’s 1911 carousel is notable because it features the work of two carvers: Charles I.D. Looff and Charles Carmel.
William Finkenstein said that on a job such as this he leaves one horse unpainted to demonstrate the original workmanship of European-trained carvers doing marvelous work with modest tools.
Some of these men were also responsible for carving the arks of synagogues in Connecticut towns that were established at the beginning of the 20th century.
Finkenstein said that in this particular horse named Tumble, which must have had some work done on it after its initial creation, he found left inside a 1937 Irish sweepstakes ticket. “It’s like a time capsule,” he said.
In addition to the 26 horses, one of the carousel’s two chariots, named Firefly (pictured), was also restored. Levine and Hass modeled rides to come.
On the back of it, Finkenstein painted an original picture based on images on the rounders — the panels above the carousel — and on period paintings that evoked the walled towns the European carvers would have been familiar with.
In all, the carousel now has a fleet of 69 horses, one camel, and two chariots.
The next scheduled capital improvements for the whirling machine will be a restoration of the organ and the installation of a state-of-the art fire suppression system. The organ will cost $100,000. The fire safety system could be as much as $500,000, said Bruno.
The capital fund has $200,000 left, which will be leveraged with grant income, to do the work. It will be refilled by visitors happy to travel back into time as they celebrate their future marriages and births.
The first big event to replenish the fund is a Kentucky Derby-themed fundraiser on May 7. Info is available.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
The carousel is the crowing glory of Lighthouse Point Park and is a perfect example of what New Haven can offer to both residents and visitors at its best. A warm summer Sunday afternoon at the park with a picnic lunch topped by rides on the carousel is one of my favorite New Haven east shore experiences. Congratulations to Ms. Bruno, the Department of Parks, Recreation & Trees, and the Finkenstein firm for a job well done.