There’s a new carousel in town

Intricately carved over hundreds of hours, polar bears, kangaroos and a school of fish await a colorful paint job at Horsin’ Around in Soddy-Daisy.

The wooden animals are among 33 handmade creations that soon will take their place on a new carousel at the entrance of the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park.

Bud Ellis, owner of the carousel carving school, said most merry-go-rounds are carved in one winter’s time, which doesn’t give artists much time to lavish their creations with lots of ornamentation.

But volunteers at his school have had “three years to whack away at ours,” he said.

“There’s nothing else like it anywhere,” said Mr. Ellis, who created the carousel at Coolidge Park. “If the zoo were to buy a carousel like this new, it would cost anywhere from $200,000 to $250,000.”

Many of the animals featured on the carousel are on the federal endangered species list, something Mr. Ellis said makes this carousel different from all others.

The carousel, 36 feet in diameter, is part of the new zoo entrance off Holtzclaw Avenue, which also will include a gift shop and ticket office. A new new concession area will be housed in the same complex as the carousel.

Zoo Director Darde Long said the addition of the carousel to the zoo complex will be a dramatic change.

“I think the carousel will be just magical for not only the new zoo entrance, but the whole of Warner Park and the surrounding neighborhood,” she said. “Families will be able to hear the carousel music as they drive into the parking lot, and I think it will draw them to the park even if they don’t want to visit the zoo.”

The new features at the zoo are expected to be ready by June.

A team of student carvers from Horsin’ Around have tooled solid pieces of wood into animals that look as realistic as possible.

Ben Dady and his grandson, Peter Theune, 10, recently put finishing touches on one of two polar bears. Peter has trimmed the bear and carved out some of the final details of the saddle and blanket.

“I like carving,” he said.

When the carousel is finished, about 7,000 man-hours — a little more than 200 hours per animal — will have been spent creating the carousel and another 400 working on the mechanics, Mr. Ellis said.

Retired nuclear engineer Marc Boothby designed and constructed the 32-foot circular floor, which, he said, nearly drove him crazy.

“Have you ever heard of nightmares and sleepless nights?” he said.

Because Mr. Boothby was limited to a small space in which to build the floor, it had to be done in pieces — 12 total.

“And if one piece was off by just a quarter-inch, the whole thing would have been off,” he said. “This was a lot more than a challenge. But in the end, it fit perfectly.”

The carousel frame was made in 1927 in upstate New York by the Allan Herschell Co., said Mr. Ellis, who found it in a trailer in North Carolina. It had no floor and no animals. He traded it for several antique carousel animals he had.

The rounding boards at the top have murals of animals painted by Pikeville, Tenn., artist Carol Carson as well as heads of animals carved by A.B. McRee, of Soddy-Daisy.

Mr. Ellis said sponsorships of carousel animals and a grant from the state for the building that will house the carousel and concession stand have covered most of the projected $550,000 cost.

Ms. Long said revenue from carousel ticket sales will be used for any remaining work needed, then the money will be used by the zoo for carousel maintenance and staffing.