The Highland Park Dentzel Carousel and Shelter Building is a carousel and building in Highland Park in Meridian, Mississippi. Manufactured about 1896 for the 1904 St. Louis Exposition by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the carousel was sold and shipped to Meridian. Highland Park Dentzel Carousel has been in operation since 1909 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. It is the only remaining two-row stationary Dentzel menagerie in the world.Its closest contemporaries both are held in Indiana. The Children's Museum carousel, also called The Carousel of Wishes and Dreams in Indianapolis, was probably manufactured pre-1900. It is not a pure Dentzel product, though; much of the original carousel has been modified from its original design. In Logansport, the Spencer Park Dentzel Carousel has been partially restored. It is dated between 1900 and 1903, although it may predate 1900 as well.The CarouselOriginal oil paintings of museum quality adorn the top crown of the carousel. The carousel is approximately in diameter, smaller than the time's standard 2-abreast — in diameter, with 28 animals, two-abreast, and 2 chariots, providing seating for 36 people. All 28 animals on the carousel, including a lion, a tiger, 2 deer, 2 antelope, 2 giraffes, and 20 horses, are meticulously hand-carved of brass and poplar wood and have been recently restored to their original beauty.
