When asked how many in the audience rode the Tilden Park merry-go-round as children, an overwhelming majority of the adults at its re-opening on Saturday raised their hands.

The historic carousel, which closed nine months ago to undergo renovations, has been a fixture in the lives of Bay Area children for almost sixty years.

As a child, Ann Scheer grew up riding the carousel. She ate at its concession stand as a teenage lifeguard at Lake Anza, and when she became a full-time ranger living at the park, she rode with her own children.

Now the chief of maintenance at the East Bay Regional Park District, Scheer has a unique position of authority when speaking about the restoration of the carousel.

"I've sort of seen the gradual

decline of the facility there," Scheer said, commenting on the condition of the 97-year-old carousel. "I don't think the park district was really taking care of it very well, so we got to cobble together this project to really take care of it and to make as nice as it is today."

The carousel, built in 1911, has been in Tilden Park since 1949. In recent years, the carousel showed its age-the floor was worn down, the organ had fallen into disrepair and the details on the hand-painted animals had begun to rub off.

After playing host to over 150,000 children a year for almost sixty years, it was due for rehabilitation.

A campaign to restore the carousel began in November 2004, when Alameda County voters approved Measure CC, a parcel tax to fund improvements for the East Bay Regional Parks.

Two years later, the carousel was nominated for a grant from the Partners in Preservation campaign, a joint effort between American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The campaign divided a million dollars in restoration funds among 13 Bay Area sites, including the Plunge, Richmond's historic natatorium, and the Julia Morgan-designed First Church of Christ, Scientist in Berkeley.

Of the all the landmarks nominated, the carousel was one of three granted the full amount of their $97,000 request, specifically because it continues to provide a direct benefit for Bay Area children, said Rosemary Cameron, assistant general manager for public affairs for the park district.

In a speech at the re-opening ceremony, Anthony Veerkamp, a representative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said the carousel was unique among the 13 landmarks.

"None can match this carousel's legacy of bringing sheer, unadulterated joy to generation after generation of the young and not-so-young," he said.

The Herschell-Spillman Company of North Tonawanda, New York constructed the carousel almost a century ago.

The carousel made stints in San Bernadino, San Deigo and Los Angeles before settling in its permanent home in Berkeley. It is one of only two existing "Menagerie Edition" merry-go-rounds constructed by the company.

The restoration effort was three-fold, including a refurbishment of the carousel's floor, the repair of the original 1911 North Tonawanda band organ, and the construction of doors and windows to enclose the carousel.

Dan Hornberger, who has restored carousels for thirty years, was given the task of restoring the hundred-year-old platform. The process involved fitting new slats into the original floor and applying a coating to withstand the damage incurred by over a hundred thousand yearly visitors.

The doors and windows, designed to complement the carousel's aesthetic, replaced a set of tattered green canvas curtains, formerly the carousel's only defense against vandals and inclement weather.

Despite rainy weather, a large number of families turned out to welcome the reopening of the carousel, which many hope will draw more visitors to the park.

Nancy Skinner, boardmember of the park district, called the carousel a "great ambassador to introducing families to our parks, and to the other wonderful recreation."

Tags: TILDEN PARK