PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Jantzen Beach Carousel was installed as an attraction at the old Jantzen Beach Amusement Park in 1928. It continued to live on after the park was replaced by a shopping mall until it was finally disassembled and put into storage in 2012.
On Monday morning, the nonprofit Restore Oregon released design concepts of what the carousel could look like in the future if they can find it a new permanent location.
“Because the Jantzen Beach Carousel is one of the largest ever built, it won’t fit in an existing building,” Peggy Moretti with Restore Oregon said. “It needs a new pavilion and a new development and that has proven to be something of a challenge.”
The new renderings of where the carousel could go including large, medium and compact places.
Ideally, Restore Oregon wants to relocate the carousel into a high-traffic, family-friendly area with access to public transit.
The nonprofit made note of dozens of cities across the country that have included old carousels into newly renovated areas — which is what they want to do in the Portland/Vancouver area.
“We’ve spoken with OMSI, the Zidell Yards, the Vancouver Waterfront… the Portland Diamond Project has expressed some interest,” Moretti said.
So far, the conversations have been just that. There are no definitive agreements at hand, but the process is ongoing. The renderings unveiled on Monday are just a glimpse of what the carousel could look like in a future spot — either in Portland or Vancouver.