Evergreen Documentary and Web Article:
The Albany Historic Carousel
This is a short evergreen documentary project on the Albany Historic Carousel and Museum project in Oregon. I led three other group members in producing this documentary, drawing from both new footage and archived footage accumulated for more than a year. This mini documentary covers the volunteer carvers, painters, and engineers' efforts in the project.
This piece received first place in the University of Oregon National Broadcasting Society 2013 video showcase's "Evergreen Documentary" category. It was published to the Albany Historic Carousel's Facebook page and was broadcasted over UO cable access for the program, Oregon Extra (Channel 23), by DuckTV supervisor and UO broadcast instructor Rebecca Force.
ALBANY, Ore. – Volunteer carvers and painters at the Albany Historic Carousel and Museum are riding horses of a different color...or making them rather.
As an effort to help revitalize Albany’s historic downtown district, 250 volunteers are working together to rebuild a 1909 Dentzel carousel. What started as broken-down mechanism in 2002 is now a rebuilt carousel platform, sporting nearly thirty unique animals, each designed, carved, and painted completely from scratch.
The museum acts dually as a carving and painting studio open to the public. Visitors can walk in and watch the volunteers work, ask them questions, and even try carving for themselves.
Volunteer carver, Gary Richards, says that this interaction often leads to visitors becoming volunteers.
“If you have the interest, we have the tools to loan out to get people going on beginning projects,” says Richards. “And it’s amazing; some people come in here saying, ‘I can’t do that, but I’ll try,’ and they turn out the most incredible stuff.”
The communal aspect of the carousel goes beyond those who work there. According to lead painter, Gwenn Marchese, the museum attracts 2,000-4,000 visitors per month, contributing greatly to the restoration effort.
“The volunteer coordinator makes a joke,” laughs Marchese, “ ‘Where else in Albany can you get 2,000-4,000 people coming in a month, and it’s not Costco?’ ”
Marchese hopes that upon the carousel’s projected 2015 completion, it will continue to bring in a substantial volume of visitors. This, she says, will help push the revitalization effort of Albany’s downtown area: “This is an anchor for rebuilding downtown. In a way, [the carousel] will keep it alive and the history going. It isn’t ever going to stop.”