William Finkenstein Traces Artistic Passion To Nearby Amsterdam

For more than 60 years, William Finkenstein has admired the history and the beauty of the world’s carousels. He considers the attractions wonderful works of art.

Finkenstein has operated his business, WRF Designs in Plainville, Connecticut, during the last 40 years. As an artist, appraiser and restorer of America's wooden carousels, he has worked on some of the oldest, some of the grandest and some of the most beautiful carousels produced during the early decades of the last century.

The passion for the attraction came to Finkenstein when he was a very young boy in nearby Amsterdam. The circus came to town. Though he was told to be mindful of the gypsies who frequently traveled with the circus, he ventured alone toward the fields and became mesmerized by a carousel.

Museums And Attractions

Finkenstein and his wife, Claudia, founded the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, Connecticut. His son, Gabe, has joined the business. Together, they have restored a countless number of attractions from across the country, including many from the Carousel Capitol of the World (Binghamton, New York). One of their current projects is the restoration of the 1915 carousel that has been featured for almost 100 years at Rye Playland in New York's Westchester County.

William Finkenstein's story appears in the recent article Restoring America's Carousels: The Work of William Finkenstein that has been published in Classic New York History. The website features many fascinating stories about the history, places, sports, music, transportation and people of New York State.

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Mike Virgintino is the author of Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History, the story about America's theme park located in The Bronx. Published by Theme Park Press, it can be found on Amazon, eBay and Goodreads.