The South Slope neighborhood group met Saturday to discuss the potential of bringing the Jantzen Beach carousel to Astoria.

Astoria is one of the locations in Oregon being considered for the Jantzen Beach carousel.

Restore Oregon, a Portland-based nonprofit that focuses on protecting Oregon’s historic places, has held the 1920s-era carousel in storage for the past several years and has committed to making a decision on relocation by Sept. 15.

Constance Waisanen, a financial consultant, is leading the charge to bring the ornate attraction to Astoria. Marianne Monson, an author and the president of The Writer’s Guild of Astoria, has also been a critical partner.

“I’ve run into lots and lots of people who remember riding it,” Waisanen said. “It holds lots of memories for Oregon children.”

She thinks the historic character of Astoria, along with its welcoming atmosphere and tourism infrastructure, makes the city an ideal location for the carousel. Restore Oregon has confirmed that Astoria is one of the locations in Oregon being considered.

While no formal presentation has been made to city leaders, Waisanen said the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce and the City Council have been supportive.

The proposal includes five possible locations in the city for the carousel — which measures 67 feet across and is nearly three stories tall — as well as a pavilion that would need to be constructed to house the attraction. Waisanen is reluctant to name the specific sites before more progress has been made, but suggested a riverside location is at the top of the wish list.

“I think having it on the waterfront is ideal,” Waisanen said. “Just this beautiful jewel.”

While Restore Oregon has offered to donate the carousel, the project is not cheap. Completion of the restoration is estimated at $4 million. Construction of the pavilion is expected to cost over $5 million.

But Waisanen, who has been involved with multimillion-dollar projects before, including the proposed $175 million expansion of Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, remains resolute.

“I serve on the hospital board,” she said. “This seems small to me.”

Waisanen envisions museum-like displays, a meeting space and facilities to view the restoration in progress. She also believes the carousel’s historic nature could make the project eligible for state and national grants.

“It’s the same vintage as the rebuild of Astoria after the fire,” Waisanen said of the Great Astoria Fire of 1922, “so it fits with us architecturally and historically.”

The carousel, built by amusement mogul C.W. Parker, initially opened on the Venice Beach pier in California until it was moved north to the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park on Portland’s Hayden Island in 1928.

With 72 meticulously hand-carved and painted ponies, four abreast from center, and two chariots on deck, the carousel was one of the largest and most impressive of its kind. For 45 years, the whirlwind of ponies, organ music, lights, mirrors and murals that adorn the carousel entertained thousands of visitors. When the amusement park was eventually demolished and replaced with a mall, the hardy old horses carried on for another four decades to the delight of a new generation.

Mall owners dismantled the carousel in 2012 and put the parts into storage before eventually donating the pieces to Restore Oregon.

“We need to locate it in a place that makes sense for the growth of the community,” Monson said. “We want it to be a place people can walk to, ideally take the trolley to.”

Waisanen and Monson admit they’ll eventually have to get others on board, but have started the discussion small, among friends.

A recent meetup of South Slope residents at Columbia River Coffee Roaster in Uniontown was the first formal public discussion of the project.

City Councilor Tom Brownson dropped into the meeting and was impressed by what he heard. He pointed to the Astoria Riverfront Trolley as a good example of a similar project that started with a dream and eventually became part of the fabric of the city.

“No one really saw that happening,” Brownson said of the trolley. “Now it’s iconic.”

Representatives from Restore Oregon will be out at the end of the month to take a closer look at Waisanen and Monson’s plan and how well Astoria fits as a candidate.

“We have to show them our passion, which we have in spades here in Astoria,” Waisanen said. “But we also have to show them the business acumen behind it all.”