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Designed by Roger Bartels ‘63, the Bear Mountain Merry-Go-Round and Pavilion is every child’s dream and every adult’s ticket back to childhood. Bartels, owner of Roger Bartels Architects, LLC, is the creative mind behind the 7,500-square-foot complex in Bear Creek, N.Y.
Dedicated last year as part of New York State Park’s centennial, the carousel pavilion flaunts an architectural style characteristic of national parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone.
“The building consists of two pavilions, one circle and one square,” says Bartels. “The circular pavilion holds the merry-go-round, and the square section is a social gathering area for meetings and parties. Where the two sections meet, there is a skylight that lights up the carousel.”
A civil engineering graduate, Bartels says his Lafayette education provided a “wonderful background that was absolutely essential in preparation for where I am today.”
He adopted the carousel project after a long-time client, whose grandparents founded Bear Mountain State Park, expressed a desire to incorporate a merry-go-round into the landscape. The attraction was in the park’s original plans more than a century ago, but was not built until last year.
“People have recognized my style, and they hire me to express that style,” says Bartels, who earned a master’s in architecture from Columbia University. “The challenge is making the next job as good as the last one.”
Founded in 1974, Roger Bartels, LLC, designs high-end waterfront homes in the Connecticut area. The company’s reach extends into Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and overseas.