NEW YORK (AP) – William Mangels was passionate about amusement parks.
He built carousels, shooting ranges and other rides for Coney Island and other parks during the first quarter of the 20th century.
An exhibition at Brooklyn’s historic Green-Wood Cemetery where he’s buried – and just miles from Coney Island – looks at his creative genius.
“William F. Mangels: Amusing the Masses on Coney Island and Beyond” runs through Oct. 26.
His most thrilling rides included the Whip, the Tickler and the Human Roulette Wheel. He invented the mechanism still used today that makes the wooden carousel horses go up and down.
His rides can still be found at many amusement parks.
Coney Island historian Charles Denson says Mangels’ factory made Coney Island the amusement center of the universe at the turn of the last century.