Carousel opening just a couple weeks away

COEUR d’ALENE — Cari Fraser’s aunts and uncles used to work at the Playland Pier in Coeur d’Alene.

Their kids, she added, were able to enjoy attractions like a 20-horse carousel that was hand carved in New York. When Playland Pier closed down and the carousel left its home near the lake, Fraser was still a child.

“But now my kids are going to get to enjoy the carousel too,” said Fraser, a member of the Coeur d’Alene Carousel Foundation. “This project is all about bringing back a big part of old Coeur d’Alene so the community can look back on the past while enjoying the carousel throughout the future.”

On June 9, the now restored carousel will once again be open for business next to Memorial Field, just north of City Park. Fraser said about 70 major donors stepped up throughout the six-year process, intent on bringing the now 75-year-old carousel back to its old home.

“The support for this was there and, the thing is, it’s nothing new for Coeur d’Alene to show support like this because this is an amazing community,” Fraser said.

To highlight that support, Fraser told The Press the story of a woman she’d never met and now lives in western Washington. One morning, Fraser got an email from the woman, who happened to be a Coeur d’Alene High School graduate with fond memories of the Pier.

“She gave us $10,000 to sponsor one of our 20 ponies,” Fraser said. “People are finding us if we aren’t finding them.”

In the two weeks left before the opening, construction crews and volunteers will put finishing touches on the carousel building and carousel. The building features a naturally stained, wood ceiling and has half garage-door style windows, which Fraser said will allow the building to be better cooled and heated.

On one of the walls inside the building, Fraser said, artwork will be painted in honor of the carousel’s two major supporters — the Footes, who donated the actual carousel, and Bud Ford, who donated $200,000 to the project.

The cupola — a dome that adorns the roof of the carousel building — will have a weathervane perched atop it along with eight stained-glass windows.

“This building will really showcase the carousel,” Fraser said. “It’s going to be amazing.”

For the grand opening celebration, Fraser said Idaho Central Credit Union has sponsored 5,000 rides. That donation, she added, likely means all of the children who wish to ride the carousel on opening day will have a chance to do so for free. Normally the rides will cost $2.

“This is a community project, and that donation really highlights that,” Fraser said.

When asked how it will feel to see the carousel in action after years of effort to bring it back, Fraser first responded with a chuckle.

“Ask me again on June 9,” she said.

Fraser said the foundation is still in fundraising mode, focused on getting individuals and businesses to purchase personalized porcelain tiles for the floor of the building, as well as wood benches and other accoutrements.

"They will tell the story of the carousel and the community," Fraser said.

Donation information: www.cdacarousel.com or call 765-2435