This is a 1911 C.W. Parker 2-row portable carousel, owned by the city of Waterloo. It was purchased from the Curtis Brothers Carnival(from Cuba City, Wisconsin) in 1925. It was placed in Fireman’s Park and has been running there ever since. The carousel includes an operational 1915 North Tonawanda Band Organ and is a source of immense civic pride, even the city’s water tower is painted to represent the carousel. The carousel was fully restored between 1987 and 1991, however, it suffered damage during the floods of 2008. The carousel was moved to a new(higher) location in Fireman’s Park has been restored to its former glory.(A celebration is planned for July 2013.) The Waterloo Carousel is one of 28 known extant Parker carousels and one of the few that is operational. The Waterloo Carousel was posted to the National Register of Historic Places on August 15, 1997.
