The Not-So-Hidden Treasures of Kennywood Park

Built in the 1880s, Kennywood Park has offered families in the Pittsburgh region joy and amusement for well over a century. And while the park does a great job of creating new attractions that keep us spellbound, it also hasn't forgotten its roots. Meandering around the winding paths of this historic summer haven, it's not hard to imagine Gibson girls and their beaus doing the same. And much of that has to do with the carefully preserved details that don't just give a nod to the past-- they walk right up and introduce themselves.


So as I visited Kennywood this weekend-- in addition to getting my obligatory batch of savory Potato Patch fries and spinning myself dizzy on the Exterminator-- I realized there's no better treasure this week, to pour from the Treasure Box, than the beauty of this local landmark.

The carousel was a logical place to start. And for lovers of Victorian art nouveau, it doesn't get much more detailed than this...

Cherubs peer from between ornate mirrors, while jokers laugh at the crowd around them...


Select a prancing pony...


Or maybe something a little more exotic...



And for the older crowd, how about this intricate art nouveau bench?


Step away from the carousel, and we see history in the park's wooden roller coasters. The facade of the Racer is the same design this dual coaster had sported in the 1920s. After a period of modernization, it was returned to this original appearance with loving restoration...


The vision of new and old can be seen here, as well, where wooden spires stand side-by-side the roaring metal thunder of the Phantom's Revenge-- one HECK of a rip-roaring roller coaster ride.

Step a bit further, and we're through the threshold of Lost Kennywood, an area following the original footprint of the park, and from the time when Pittsburgh was minus an ending "H"!...


Here the Bavarian Swing has much to say about a time when decoration really mattered...


With landscapes...


And ladies fair...


Even the fountains of the park speak of attention to detail, and that littlest bit of magic...


You might find yourself back to the future in go-go boots...


Or carried away by some Pittsburgh pirates!..


So let's play a few rounds of ski-ball...



Have a fresh-squeezed lemonade...


And then, I'm afraid, I have to say...

Goodnight!

• If you missed Sunday's Virtual Vacation-- as we explore three states through 1930s postcards, click here.

And maybe I'll see you this Sunday? If not, enjoy that beautiful summer weather, my friends!

Crafting the Marshmallow PEEPS Carousel

Some people see sugary marshmallow chicks and think, "Look, dessert!" Me, I'm the sicko who thinks, "Hm, what I can glue them to?"

Actually, I'd been wanting to try my hand at making a cardboard Christmas village house, ever since I got my hands on some vintage-style cottages for the winter holidays. But when I realized there were extra Marshmallow Peeps lurking from last Easter's Peep Garland project just going to waste (er... curing) (click here if you'd missed that), ... well, the project took a suddenly Peeposterous turn.


"Why not build a cardboard carousel?" my brain mused. "In Easter colors! With Peeps Chicks instead of horses! And marshmallow rabbit onlookers?!"

(Yes, total suspension of disbelief is one of the primary rules for effective Peep crafting.)

The first step was to get the cardboard. This all involved stuff I would have thrown out otherwise-- the backs of used writing tablets, paper towel rolls, and parts of old boxes.


For the base, I made a pattern in Microsoft Word out of boxes-- a large square which would be the platform, surrounded by narrow rectangles of equal size all around it, to bend down and give the platform dimension. I printed this out as my template, and traced it onto the cardboard. I made four of those, cutting a circle in the center of two of them, that would allow the paper towel roll to fit through snugly.

I painted and glittered each of these pieces separately, so that way the paint job would be a little more pristine-- especially since I'd wanted to use a lot of different colors. The paints were Folk Art acrylics, and the glitter was Martha Stewart brand from Michaels. I used Martha's glitter glue, too.


Here's a close-up of the tube, so you can see the carousel "mural." I'd glued and painted four egg-shaped "windows" onto the carousel center featuring roughly-painted Peeps scenes... Mainly because it made me laugh...


Next, I made the roof. This was rough, given I'm apparently dimensionally-impaired. And it actually took me several tries to figure out how to make flat cardboard fold into a four-sized peaked roof. You can see the pattern of the four triangles laid out here...


When I made the roof the first time, it was huge. Really, really big. Like, one big wind in Peepville would blow the whole carousel over and cause major lawsuits. So I had to make it about half the size I originally did. You can see the giant pyramid here...


Next I poked four holes into the top and bottom base boxes using a Phillips head screwdriver, and skewered one Peep each through a plastic drinking straw. (Got a whole pack for $1 in Easter colors at CVS.) Then I fitted each Peep-on-a-stick into place, and put a bit of craft glue around both the paper towel roll in the center (top and bottom) and around the end of each straw. Then I glued the top and bottom boxes onto the piece. I also glued the more modest-sized roof to the top roof box, and glued and glittered those together to be more seamless.

The pink trim was simply strips of box carboard peeled apart from each other to create that ribbed look, and then trimmed on the top with pinking shears. These were painted, glittered and cut to fit.



Each Peep was moved into carousel position by using a cotter pin to hold it in place while a dollop of glue dried to affix it permanently.


Lastly the carousel was affixed onto its "grass" glitter platform. That base is just some cardboard that came with a calendar, and glued onto a heavier box cardboard for more stability. It was painted, glittered, and the carousel was stuck to it...


A blue and a pink bunny Peep were added to the scene, waiting in line for the ride. (Why, may I ask, are the marshmallow rabbits called "Peeps," too? Ah, just one of the mysteries of life...)

Things I'd do differently if I did this again? I would make the entire piece rounded instead of square. Also, I really don't feel the structure would pass Peepville building codes; edges aren't as flush as I'd like, things don't sit quite as flat as I'd hoped, so I'd be more meticulous about how I cut my patterns.

All in all, though, it's a funny display for the house, and a great way for a little trash-t0-treasure fun at the Easter holiday. Hope you had fun during this magical moment of Peep entertainment!

For those of you who missed the post on my thrift-store-decorated work office, click here. Otherwise I hope you see you for this next Treasure Box Wednesday, when we uncover some orphaned saucers, some springy plates for $1 and I become reacquainted with a bowl like my mother's which I'd thought was lost to the sands o' time.

Thanks, as always, for being a part of it all! I just love that you folks stop by!