Catch a ride on an Island Carousel

Now Coming To A Location Near You

 

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Researched and reported by Janet Heller
and Judi Biederman

 

This scenario is not just the stuff of times gone by. It is happening every day in malls and shopping centers across the country thanks to specialty product companies like Island Carousel, Inc. of Bristol, Pennsylvania.

 

Island Carousel operates carousels in regional malls and festival marketplaces.  According to the company’s promotional brochure, “While contributing a little bit of fantasy and nostalgia, carousels are enjoyed and patronized by people of all ages.  They increase traffic and provide an income base without being competitive with mall tenants.  The charm of a carousel makes it suited for every environment, especially shopping centers, where it is meeting with outstanding success.”

 

 

William Christ, president of Island Carousel, says he got the idea for the company from a friend, Mel Geller, who had a picture of a carousel that intrigued both men. After Christ’s restaurant business failed and he was forced to walk away sans equipment and fixtures, his friend noted that a product like a carousel could be moved if its location didn’t work out. Unfortunately, Geller passed away, but his idea continued as Christ formed Island Carousel in 1985.

 

Christ thinks his company is the oldest of its kind in the United States and notes that even today, there are only six to eight similar operations in this country. In providing carousels to malls, shopping centers and festival marketplaces, Island Carousel offers a variety of options to its clients. Usually Island Carousel leases space and conducts its own operation, but the carousels also can be leased from the company or purchased outright.

 

A carousel enhances and enriches the environment
of the mall in which
it is placed

 

Depending on the location of the mall and the size of the carousel, Christ typically pays between $2,000 and $3,000 per month in rent, usually in a one-year specialty leasing agreement that includes common area maintenance and utilities. Island Carousel then operates its own business on the premises, hiring its own employees and providing its own insurance.

 

If a mall or shopping center wants to run the show, carousels can be leased or purchased from Island Carousel. Lease payments are dependent on the size and type of product ordered and run from $3,000 to $7,000 per month, usually amortizing the carousel’s cost-- which runs from $145,000 to $380,000. In a lease agreement, Island Carousel provides minor maintenance and oversees major maintenance. The client can specify the size and type of carousel desired but Christ warns that a special order can take from two months to a year for fulfillment.

 

Carousels appeal to
“shoppers” of all ages, and they draw traffic without competing with retail tenants

 

Although he deals with several manufacturers, most of Christ’s carousels are made in Venice, Italy by Bertazzon-3B, one of the world’s largest amusement ride manufacturers with experience gained over 40 years of worldwide sales.  All products are completely manufactured in-house to ensure first-rate quality.  Bertazzon-3B is able to meet all demands of its customers by offering them portable and stationary models both in standard and special execution.  Thanks to tasteful design, beautiful detailing and fine finish, the products of Bertazzon-3B have achieved considerable success.  Bertazzon-3B backs every piece of equipment with efficient and constant after sale service.

 

Their beautiful carousels, built in the style of the 1800s, are completely handmade. Murals are hand-painted by the Venetian artists Grazia and Lino.  Molds have been carefully reproduced from the original Phillip Schneider German Carousel constructed in 1898, which was originally turned by real horses until 1928.  The floors are Brazilian oak, the mechanisms are German, the horses’ tails are made of real horsehair, and hundreds of  lights create a spell of romantic enchantment. The “teacup” spinner turns in circles, the horses move up and down and the dolphin chariot sways back and forth. The black horse is for good luck and dates back 2,000 years to Roman chariot race tradition. Following another tradition, the carousels  revolve counter-clockwise, as opposed to merry-go-rounds, which revolve clockwise.

 

Bertazzon-3B carousels run from 23 feet to 34.5 feet in diameter. Units are set up with a fence surrounding a three-foot outer perimeter, mandating floor space requirements from 29 feet to 40.5 feet in diameter. Height requirements run from 24 feet to 35.5 feet.

 

Once a carousel is in place, operators face few promotional costs. “Everything is by word of mouth,” says Christ. “Someone sees it or rides it and then tells a friend, and so on. It carries itself.” When Island Carousel operates the carousel, the company works with mall management to act as an asset to the shopping facility and the local community. By example, Christ says the company once loaned some of its horses to a school to be used in a production of “Carousel!” and another time donated tickets to be sold or raffled for a public fund-raising event.

 

“I believe we offer an amenity to a mall,” says Christ, who notes that he constantly gets letters from people who love the atmosphere that the carousel creates. “It’s not so much of an economic point as it is one of enhancement.” Although there is money to be made from a carousel operation, with hourly capacities ranging from 650 to 1,100 riders, most of the attraction for mall management is the good will generated by the way the carousels look and sound. “When we take a carousel out of mall, it’s missed,” says Christ. “People may never ride it, but it does something for them.”

 

Those people don’t need to know that the calliope doesn’t exist and that the music is coming from a modern cd player with good speakers. They are far more interested in reliving childhood memories or creating new ones. And then they may need to make a purchase to enhance their hopes and dreams.

 

VISIT AN ISLAND CAROUSEL
NEAR YOU

Island Carousel currently operates carousels in ten malls:

 

Tippecanoe Mall-Lafayette, IN

Independence Center-Independence, MO

Chesapeake Square-Chesapeake, VA

Lynnhaven Mall-Virginia Beach, VA

Southpark Mall-Colonial Heights, VA

Worcester Common Outlets-Worcester, MA

 Eastland Mall-Evansville, IN

White Oaks Mall-Springfield, IL

Plymouth Meeting Mall-Plymouth Meeting, PA

Maplewood Mall-St Paul, MN