1 Marine Drive

Buffalo, New York 

The Buffalo Heritage Carousel is one of the five solar-powered carousels in the world. The solar-powered roof of the Buffalo Heritage Carousel demonstrates, in real time, the power of renewable energy to operate a locally made and restored historic carousel providing education, joy and hope for the children and individuals of all ages and for generations to come. The vision is to be the beacon on Buffalo's revitalized waterfront at Canalside near the Erie Canal.

info@buffaloheritagecarousel.org

 

Neil Sedaka

1939-2026

Sedaka was an American singer, songwriter and pianist.  Beginning his music career in 1957, he sold millions of records worldwide and wrote or co-wrote over 500 songss for himself and other artists, collaborating with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody. 

After a short-lived tenure as a founding member of the doo-wop group, The Tokens, Sedaka achieved a string of hit singles over the late 1950s and early 1960s including "Oh, Carol" (1959), "Calendar Girl" (1960), "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (1961) and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (1962).  Sedaka maintained a successful career as a songwriter, penning hits for other artists including "Stupid Cupid" for Connie Francis and "Love Will Keep Us Together" for Captain and Tennille.  He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983.

My favorite Sedaka song is "Laughter in the Rain".  It was recorded between November and December 1973 at Clover Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.  The song was subsequently released in October 1974 and became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1975.  The lyrics were by Phil Cody and includes a 20-second saxophone solo by Jim Horn.

Strolling along country roads with my baby.  It starts to rain, it begins to pour.  Without an umbrella, we're soaked to the skin I feel a shiver run up my spine.  I feel the warmth of her hand in mine.

Ooh, I hear laughter in the rain Walking hand in hand with the one I love. Ooh, how I love the rainy days and the happy way I feel inside.  

While Neil Sedaka had several major hits, his most iconic and popular was "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do".  It hit #1 twice, first as a fast-paced pop song in 1962 and then as a slower ballard in 1975, a rare feat for any artist. 

Neil Sedaka, who went from classical music prodigy to talented songwriter to teenage idol to pop music fixture in a celebrated career that spanned seven decades.

RIP Mr. Neil Sedaka

Your music filled our hearts!

"Music is what feelings sound like."

 

.. To my blog followers .. 

❤️ 

.. a request ..

 Please ask one person to follow this blog

that 

features 

.. Americana ..

 People, Places and Things.

&

Tell that person why you enjoy this blog.

Thank you.

❤️ 

www.offshoremuse2023.blogspot.com

 

The Bean (Cloud Gate)

Chicago, Illinois

Cloud Gate as "The Bean" is one of Chicago's most popular sight.  The monumental work of art anchors downtown Millennium Park, the lakefront park in Chicago's downtown Loop area. It sits above the McCormick Tribune Plaza in the AT&T Plaza and reflects the city's famous skyline. This area of downtown is where you'll find alfesco dining in summer and a free skating rink in winter.  If you are walking on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe, you really can't miss it. 

What is The Bean?

The Bean is a work of public art in the heart of Chicago's downtown.  The sculpture which is officially titled Cloud Gate, is one of the world's largest permanent outdoor art installations.  The monumental work was completed in 2006 and quickly became one of Chicago's most iconic sights.   The Bean's reflective surface was inspired by liquid mercury.  This shiny exterior reflects the people moving around the park, the lights of Michigan Avenue and the surrounding skyline and green space .. perfectly encapsulating the Millennium Park experience.  The reflection of the sky above the park, not to mention the curved underside of The Bean serves as an entrance that visitors can walk under to enter the park, inspired the sculpture's creator to name the piece Cloud Gate. 

It was designed by internationally acclaimed artist, Anish Kapoor.  The Indian-born British sculptor was already well-known for his large-scale outdoor works including several with highly reflective surfaces.  Cloud Gate was Kapoor's first permanent public outdoor work in the United States and is widely considered his most famous.

The exterior of The Bean is made entirely of stainless steel.  It was created using computer technology to precisely cut 168 massive steel plates which were then fitted together and welded shut for a completely seamless finish.  Inside, it's made of a network of two large metal rings.  The rings are connected via a truss framework similar to what you might see on a bridge.  This allows the sculpture's massive weight to be directed to its two base points creating the iconic "bean" shape and allowing for the large concave area beneath the structure.  The Bean's steel exterior is attached to the inside frame with flexible connectors that let it expand and contract as the weather changes. 

The Bean is 33 feet hight, 42 feet wide and 66 feet long.  It weighs about 110 tons which is approximately the same as 15 adult elephants.  The Bean features a 12-foot-high arch that visitors can walk through to see reflections from below. 

Why is it called The Bean?

While the piece's official name is Cloud Gate, the artist doesn't title his works until after they're completed.  When the structure was still under construction, renderings of the design were released to the public.  Once Chicagoans saw the curved, oblong shape they quickly began calling it "The Bean".

The nickname stuck!

 

Fun with Dick and Jane

Dick and Jane are iconic American books (1930s-1970s) used to teach reading through simple, repetitive sentences and watercolor illustrations.  The books follow siblings Dick, Jane, younger sister Sally, mother and father along with their dog, Spot and cat, Puff in daily suburban adventures.  These books are considered staples of Amercian nostalgia, representing a specific idealized mid-century lifestyle.

Zerna Addas Sharp was an American educator and book editor who is best known as the creator of Dick and Jane.  Published by Scott, Foreseman and Company of Chicago, Illinois.  The series, which included such titles as We Look and See, We Come and Go, We Work and Play,  Fun with Dick and Jane, war marketed until 1973 and used the look-say or the "sight words"method to teach reading.  Dick and Jane was written by William S. Gray. He was an  American educator and literacy advocate who was commonly referred to as "The Father of Reading".  Sharp developed the Dick and Jane characters and edited the series of books.  Gray authored and Eleanor B. Campbell did most of the illustrations for the early readers. The characters of "Dick" and "Jane" made their debut in 1930 reaching the height of their popularity in the 1950s until the series was retired in 1965. Today, the Dick and Jane characters have become icons of mid-century American culture for many from the baby boomer generation and the books have become collector's items.

The books have been reissued in various formats including hardcover boxed sets making them available for a new generation of young readers.

 

The Penguin Nancy Drew Mystery Stories is a classic series featuring teenage sleuth Nancy Drew created by pseudonym Carolyn Keene.  The series included 56 original volumes featuring stand-alone mysteries that do not need to be read in order.  A complete list of novels includes 64 novels. Nancy Drew has been solving mysteries and delighting young fans for over 75 years. The first 10 book titles in order of publication were The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, The Mystery at Lilac Inn, The Secret of Shadow Ranch, The Secret of Red Gate Farm, The Clue in the Diary, Nancy's Mysterious Letter, The Sign of the Twisted Candles, Password to Larkspur Lane and The Clue of the Broken Locket.  

Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon are the pseudonyms under which many ghostwriters penned the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, respectively.  Both series were created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm in the late 1920s and early 1930s.  Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet and syndicate writer, Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson were the two people primarily responsible for bringing the iconic character of Nancy Drew to life in the minds and hearts of millions of readers around the world.

The harder-to-find titles include The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, Mystery at Lilac Inn.  These are "First Edition" adding to their rarity and value.  

Mildred "Millie" Wirt Benson

(1905-2002)

Benson was an American journalist and writer of children's books.  She wrote some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries under the name Carolyn Keene and created the detective's adventurous personality.  Benson wrote from 1929 to 1953 and contributed to 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew mysteries which were best sellers.   She began working at the Toledo Blade in 1944 and continued there for 58 years.  In the 1990s, she began writing a weekly column for the Toledo Blade titled "On the Go".  

Benson's favorite Nancy Drew story was The Hidden Staircase.  Whenever asked, she would gladly autograph copies of the Nancy Drew books, but only the titles she actually wrote.

As a young girl I enjoyed reading the Nancy Drew series on our front porch in the summertime after visiting the local library. As the late Jim Roselle of WJTN fame would often ask, What's in your wallet?  His answer?  My library card.

1872 .. Allan Herschell Co. Inc. Carrousels .. 1915

Merry-Go-Rounds .. Park Amusements .. Road Carrousels

 🎠 

180 Thompson Street

 North Tonawanda, NY

Allan Herschell was a Scottish immigrant who made North Tonawanda the Carousel Capital of the World.

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places April 18, 1985.

The Allan Herschell Company, founded in North Tonawanda, New York was the fourth in a series of companies in the community which manufactured carousels and other amusement park rides. Herschell had previously been a partner in the earliest of the area's carousel firms:  the Armitage Herschell Company in 1873 and later with the Herschell-Spillman Company in 1901.  The Spillman Engineering Company operated from the 1920s through the 1930s in competition with its founder.

The Allan Herschell Company, the most prolific maker of carousels, specialized in producing portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators.  The company produced over 3,000 hand-carved wooden carousels and out produced all of its rivals in the carousel industry.  Each hand-carved wooden carousel featured striking yet simple horses.  

The star attraction at the museum is the beautifully restored 1916 Number One Special Carrousel.  With 36 hand-carveed wooden horses and more than 500 twinkling lights,  this ride spins to the sounds of a vintage Wurlitzer band organ.  Built in the former factory, it's a rare chance to experience a working piece of American amusement history with no theme park required.  

North Tonawanda, once an industrial powerhouse with 150 lumber mills was the longtime home of the Allan Herschell Company, which led the carousel industry from 1883-1970.  Today, visitors from around the world come to ride the fully restored carousel.

A major employer in the community, the Allan Herschell Company had a worldwide reputation for quality rides.  Carousels from this company were shipped throughout the United States and Canada, as well as to all parts of the world including South Africia, India, Tahiti and Mexico.

Of the 148 antique, hand-carved wooden carousels still in existence in the United States and Canada today, 71 were manufactured in North Tonawanda in one of the four Herschell companies.  The Allan Herschell Company had a major influence on the development of the American amusement ride industry, where this influence continues to be felt.

Beyond the Carousel

Over the years the Allan Herschell Company expanded its line of amusement park rides and pioneered such concepts as "Kiddieland", a specialized group of rides designed for small children.  It also introduced adult thrill rides such as the Twister, the Hurricane and the Sky Wheel which was a double Ferris wheel nearly 90 feet tall.  Much of this growth occurred under the ownership of John Wendler and his family, starting in the 1930s. 

The company maintained its North Tonawanda operation until the late 1950s when it moved to Buffalo.  It continued as a locally owned firm until it was sold in the early 1970s to Chance Manufacturing of Wichita, Kansas, a rival maker of amusement rides.

Many of the popular rides today can trace their origins to the company. Nearly every person who has visited an amusement park at some time in their lives has experienced the thrill of riding on one of the Herschell rides.   

An interesting sidenote is that the word, carousel is spelled as carrousel with two r's at the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum. If you call the museum, the Education Director when providing their website address over the phone, that person must interject with "We spell it with two r's" or they will not get the right page. 

When the carousel came to America it went through a few changes.  American carousels rotate in the opposite direction of their British cousins.

www.carrouselmuseum.org

The Lead Horse on a Carousel

The Lead Horse is often called a King Horse.  Positioned on the outside row, often right behind the chariot, if one exists.  The horse is typically the largest, most ornate and most heavily decorated (often with armor or jewels) to serve as a marker for operators to count revolutions.  It is generally a "stander" (three or four feet on the ground) and is the most elaborately carved.  While "Lead" or "King is the generic term, famous examples exist such as "Jingles" on the King Arthur Carousel at Disneyland.  The Lead Horse is often the most sought-after horse by collectors. 

🎠