The pandemic hasn't put a damper on fundraising for the carousel coming in May to Canalside.
The not-for-profit Buffalo Heritage Carousel has received grants of $250,000 each from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. Another donor gave $35,000 for the naming rights to the carousel's tiger. That leaves the organization $665,000 shy of meeting its $5.8 million fundraising goal.
The organization is waiting to find out if one large donation will be withdrawn due to economic hardships caused by the coronavirus.
"The grant received from the Ralph Wilson Foundation this fall and most recently the grant awarded from the Margaret L Wendt Foundation for our carousel project is sincerely appreciated as we strive to close the funding gap for our carousel project," said Laurie Hauer-LaDuca, the carousel organization's president. "The Buffalo Heritage Carousel plans to open this spring, thanks in part to the generosity and commitment of local foundations, businesses and individuals who have helped bring this family attraction to our community to enjoy for generations to come."
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The grant from the Wendt Foundation doubles that philanthropy’s contribution to the project. The foundation in 2015 bought the rare park-style carousel, built in 1924 in North Tonawanda, from a Massachusetts family at trustee Robert Kresse's urging and donated it to the Buffalo Heritage Carousel.
The Wendt Foundation's agreement included a stipulation that the family attraction operate at Canalside so it could be in the vicinity of Explore & More Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children's Museum, which opened in 2019. The City of Buffalo, which owns the land, and Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., the state agency that oversees Canalside, later endorsed the idea.
Attorney James Wadsworth has "adopted" the lone tiger in the 34-animal menagerie. His $35,000 donation, made in the memory of Kresse, who died Nov. 30, brings the total raised through carousel naming rights commemorating the former Wendt trustee and his wife, Mary Ann, to $135,000.
The Wendt and Wilson grants were made to the carousel organization’s "Race to the Finish Line Capital Campaign," which seeks to pay off the remainder of the project and build a $250,000 endowment.
A $4 million multisided roundhouse designed by eco LOGIC with glass partitions between wooden columns, and a double-pitched metal roof with integrated solar panels provided by Tesla, is nearly completed on the Commercial Wharf. The opening is planned for Memorial Day Weekend in 2021.
The city's travel and tourism chief believes the carousel will be an exciting new waterfront attraction.
"We have been salivating waiting for the carousel to open," said Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara. "The carousel is a fantastic enhancement and tells a great historical story."
Mark Sommer covers preservation, development, the waterfront, culture and more. He's also a former arts editor at The News.Â
