Baltimore's vintage Inner Harbor Carousel could be replaced by a pirate-themed theater, a miniature golf course, a traveling Ripley's Believe or Not exhibit or a Ferris wheel.
It also might give way to a new carousel, with figures shaped like anything from orioles and ravens to exotic fish from the National Aquarium.
Those were a few of the ideas presented Tuesday to city officials attempting to decide whether to replace the 1906 Herschell-Spillman hand-carved carousel that has been a fixture on the Inner Harbor shoreline since 1981 but has seen falling ridership.
Baltimore Development Corp. in July sought "expressions of interest" from groups that would like to operate an "amusement attraction" at the present carousel site, on the Inner Harbor's south shore.
The agency received four replies, including one from the family that operates the carousel and wants to continue doing so. Others came from companies that operate rides and attractions in the U.S., Israel and South Africa and argued that the city should bring a new attraction to the waterfront.
The Inner Harbor "has to be re-energized," said Jim Seay, president of Premier Rides of Baltimore, one of the presenters. "That's what today was about. We have to return some of the magic of the Inner Harbor."
Representatives from the four teams made their presentations to the Inner Harbor Task Force, a group of city agency leaders and other stakeholders who meet regularly to discuss matters pertaining to the Inner Harbor.
Colin Tarbert, Inner Harbor Coordinator for the BDC, asked the task force members to evaluate the presentations in writing. He said city officials will use their evaluations to decide by year's end whether to seek full-blown proposals for redevelopment of the carousel site, which is between the Maryland Science Center and Rash Field.
The carousel has been on a year-to-year lease with the city, does not stay open year- round, and does not have a lease for 2010. Its operators say it drew about 10,000 riders in 2009, down from 100,000 in some previous years. Several of the 28 figures are broken or missing altogether.
Tarbert said the city could allow the present operators to keep the carousel where it is and restore it. But before renewing the lease, he said, BDC officials wanted to consider other ideas for attracting harbor visitors.
"The thought was, the carousel has been there for a long time," he said. "Maintenance is difficult. Financial operations are difficult. Should we look at this as an opportunity to restore an existing carousel or think outside the box and seek other ideas?"
The widest range of ideas came from Premier Rides, which included Ripley's Museum on its team. Seay said he could see the carousel being replaced with a Ferris wheel, a "4-D theater" with changing themes such as a simulated pirate ship during nonholiday periods and a "winter wonderland" when it's cold, a traveling museum featuring artifacts from Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum or a "mirror maze" by Ripley's.
Seay said he could envision adding enough rides and attractions to fill roughly one-third of Rash Field. He said the attractions need to make a critical mass strong enough to form a destination that could draw people who don't normally venture south of Harborplace.
"You have to do something to get people to Rash Field," he said.
Two other groups, the Entertainment Finance Group of Stevensville and Crown Foods of Severn, proposed replacing the existing carousel with a new one with different figures.
Ted Shaw of Crown suggested figures that honor local landmarks and groups, from the Orioles and Ravens to the USF Constellation and Fort McHenry.
Mark Rosenzweig, operations manager for Entertainment Finance Group, said he envisioned combining a new carousel with other attractions, such as a Ferris wheel and a "rope course."
Kristen Valdes and Richard Knight of Knightco Carousel, operators of the current carousel, said their attraction is worth restoring because it is one of only 130 Hershell-Spillman carousels in the world, a "sister" to the one at the Trimper Rides in Ocean City.
They acknowledged that the carousel needs repairs and said they have plans to raise funds to preserve it, such as selling naming rights to the carousel and eventually enclosing it so it can operate year-round.
Valdes, who is Knight's daughter, said the carousel deserves to be retained because it costs only $2 a ride, making it more affordable than other Inner Harbor attractions.
Knight, who is 63, said his family began operating the carousel when William Donald Schaefer was mayor and he was looking forward to continuing to do so. "This was going to be my retirement," he said.
