{Interview With Daniel Horenberger}

Q. How did you get started in this unique business?

A. I grew up in a small farm town in northern Illinois called Marengo. I always had an interest in travel and mechanical things. I started to work for a company that restored carousel band organs and theater pipe organs in the 1970s. The theater
organs were installed into pizza parlors all over the country. This satisfied my need to travel and to work with my hands. I worked for this company for five years, learning the trade of organ restoration. During that time the company relocated to southern California in Pasadena. This was a small company, made of myself and two owners. Eventually, both owners retired due to illness, one before the move to California and the other shortly after.

I was now on my own and running the company. I still worked with one of the prior owners who now was only a consultant, writing books about organs. My interest turned more towards carousels than theater organs during this time. I was fortunate to be in Los Angeles, where there was a company called Bradley and Kaye Amusements. The owner, Dave Bradley, and I became friends and partners on some ride projects. Dave Bradley is known as the father of the modern day carousel and had 80 years in the amusement industry before he passed away.

After that I wanted to learn all aspects of the business, so I got the operation contract for the carousel at Santa Monica Pier. This carousel is the most photographed and filmed carousel in the world, used in more movies and television shows than any other. I learned how to run a operation and came up with an efficient way to maintain a working carousel. The rest is history. Dave Bradley
retired and I started to maintain working carousels all over the west. This then turned into complete restorations of antique carousels and now also the manufacturing of carousels.

Today we are the most successful and largest restoration company in the United States. But, it was a long, 25 year process. In the future we will be splitting the company to have one shop for antique restoration of carousels and the other devoted to the manufacturing of new carousels.

Q. Your website has an extensive collection of photos, art, and other information about your work. In what ways has your site helped you serve your clients and carousel enthusiasts world-wide?

A. The carousel business is very specialized. It would be impossible to reach the market we have through publications. The internet has greatly enhanced the ability for small specialized companies like mine to be found. It has taken my company, which was originally advertised by word of mouth on the west coast, and turned it into a global one. Daily we get people from all over the earth looking at our site.

For the most part we can't help carousel enthusiasts. We redirect them to the sites necessary for them to get the information they're seeking. There are some great organizations that specialize in the history of carousels. My company focusses on the manufacturing and restoring carousels only.

When we start a carousel for a city or location we start a small website inside our main website to show the progress of the
work. This keeps the community involved and aware of what work is being accomplished on their carousel.

Q. Some of the photos show employees at work. What are some of the specialized skills needed to do carousel restoration?

A. The most important skill is patience and the desire to do great work. Anyone who is mechanically inclined can be trained to do the work. We use different shops for different jobs, liek mechanical work, welding, etc. This is only true for the mechanical side of the restoration.

The painting is another story. In the paint you not only have to have great ability to be an artist, you also have to learn and study how to paint a carousel horse. Some very good artists have tried carousel painting with no success. All of my artist apprenticed in other shops to learn the trade. For all of them it has been a lifetime commitment in the art of carousels. The difference between my company and others trying to get started in the business is the knowledge of original paint. I have one person that does nothing but research carousel archives looking for original paint and colors. Most of the carousels you see today look like plastic. We use an archival system of color matching. When we're done the carousel looks as close as possible to the way it came from the factory almost 100 years ago.

I'm fortunate to have these artists working with me, although they operate their own shops separate of mine. It's the cooperation between our shops that allows us to do work to the quality we do.

Q. In a typical year, how many projects would you be working on at a time?

A. We oversee around 15 carousels on a regular basis. Many cities and organizations hire us to come in to do the yearly maintenance of their carousels. We work with their staff to make sure the daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance is being done correctly. Also, if they have a breakdown, we fly in as soon as possible with the parts and repair the carousel. A customer on a weekend
in the summer can loose 5% of their yearly gross if their carousel breaks down. We try to keep a good supply of hard-to-get parts in stock for our customers. On self-available items we try to find suppliers in the area of the carousel that will open at night and weekends to help us out. Sometimes we same-day air freight parts in from suppliers, then we will work day and night to finish in an emergency situation. At all times someone on my staff is on standby to respond to an emergency.

A total carousel restoration takes around two years from start to finish. We try to keep four restorations at a time happening. This way twice a year we do an installation or removal. Some of the machines operate during the work on the horses. We take off a few at a time and rotate them as they get restored. In the off season when the carousel is closed, we do the mechanical work.

Q. Do you send the team to the location, or do the work in one central place?

A. Both. Some carousel restorations only require the mechanical work to be done. Sometimes we can do all of this work on-site. Doing work on-site is sometimes faster but almost twice as expensive as working in the shop. Normally the carousel is brought to our shop and all of the work is done there.

Q. How do the carousels get transported? Is it your responsibility, or the buyer's?

A. The transportation is always my responsibility. I have special insurance that covers the carousel during its transportation. Also the horses are fragile and my crew knows how to handle them so they won't get damaged.

Q. What kind of an impact has this restoration business had on the amount of carousel production worldwide? Are more owners of amusement parks willing to purchase carousels knowing that this service is available to them?

A. There has been no impact on carousel production because of restoration. There is now an awareness in amusement parks that have an antique carousel that it is a piece of history that should be looked at differently than other rides. In the past when a carousel became unusable they got rid of it and bought a new one. Today they are cherished and the antique value is promoted by the park. There is a movement to find antique carousels that have been put into storage and restore and install them into amusement parks. This is rare. There are very few extra antique carousels around.

Q. Is there anything you would like to add or share with the students who will be visiting our site?

A. I have been very fortunate to find a business that is so rewarding both in a financial and a well-being sense. I feel it is very important as a person to do something with your life that you can be happy and proud of. It isn't always easy to find. Most of my staff have been with me for over 15 years. They all had many different jobs in their life. They now know what they're
going to do with their life until they retire. It is an infectious industry. All of us here can't imagine doing anything else with our lives.

Reference:
Horenberger, Daniel. <dan@carousel.com> "Interview Questions" 12 July 2000. Personal email.