Circus Building & Carousel

Circus Building and Carousel. Making the Museum. , Mrs. Webb exhibited true showmanship when designing the circus building to enliven the presentation of its main attraction, Roy Amold's miniature model circus parade. She felt that because no one ever sees the beginning and end of a parade simultaneously, the structures 500 foot long horseshoe shaped concourse made the cavalcade more realistic. , The early plans for the circus building included a polygonal structure to house the Dentzel Carousel, which was abandoned in later blueprints Originally, Mrs. Webb was uncertain about acquiring the carousel, recalling: , A very dear friend sent some photos of the carousel with an urgent appeal to buy it. Such an acquisition at the time seemed utterly incongruous to me and I threw the photographs with anger and decided that I was being made fun of... Later on... tired and depressed. I fell asleep and had a really wonderful dream, music playing, my husband, children and all the grandchildren riding the merry-go-round animals, laughing and reaching for the gold ring Laughter filled my soul and on waking...I was convinced the carousel should become a part of the Shelburne Museum. When it is re-erected, who knows, my dream may come true.