The Forest Park Carousel holds some of the last surviving creations of
master wood-carver Daniel Carl Muller. Carousels designed by Daniel Muller were added in 1918, with one of them destroyed by fire in 1966, and the other in 1972.
After emigrating from Germany in
the 1880s, Muller settled in Philadelphia and opened D.C. Muller and
Brother Co., which operated from 1903 to 1914. Muller crafted figures
for twelve carousels in his lifetime; this carousel is one of only two
that remain, with his fanciful interpretations of horses, unicorns,
bears, and other menagerie animals. Muller worked with the Dentzel
Company on the Forest Park Carousel, another historically renowned
carousel maker. William H. Dentzel constructed the frame in 1890 and
Muller carved the animals in 1903. The carousel was first operated in
1903 in Dracut, Massachusetts, then taken apart and stored for later
use.
