Toothpick Carnival - The creative mind of William Jennings-Bryan Burke

• Roller Coasters
• Ferris Wheels
• Merry-Go-Rounds
• Air Rides
• Other Attractions

Carnivals

Below you will find a collection of pictures of complete carnivals and by clicking the links above you will see many individual rides and attractions.

Carnival built in the prison basement

This picture was taken in 1942 in the prison basement where Burke was allowed to work on his toothpick wonders. Billy is seen on the right behind the roller coaster wearing white.

Mini-Carnival on display in San Francisco

This Mini-Carnival is on display at the Musee Mecanique museum on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. This carnival is called "Toothpick Fantasy". You can see video of it in action by going to the video page.

Playland carnival, built in the late 1970’s

This carnival is called "Playland" and was built in the late 1970’s by Billy with help from his wife June. This is by far one of the most beautiful and colorfully realistic carnivals he has created. This picture comes from a postcard. Several of the pictures on the Other Attractions page come from this carnival. You can also see video of it in action by going to the video page.

Playland carnival, built in Folsom Prison

This carnival is also called "Playland" and was built in Folsom Prison by Billy prior to 1956. In this photograph the carnival is shown in storage. With Burke standing there (he was 5'6" tall) you can get an idea of the size of the rides and attractions.

Left-side view of Playland #2

This is actually another Playland carnival that was built most likely in the early 1970’s. We’ll call this one Playland #2 since it also has the name Playland on the front gates. This carnival sports alot more color on the buildings and the Ferris Wheel is a little bit different style than the other Playland. Billy is shown standing in front of the carnival.

Right-side view of Playland #2

This is a view of the right-most part of Playland #2. The Air ride is visible from this angle. This carnival is more sparsely populated than the other Playland carnival--must have been cold day!

Partial Carnival - Late 1960’s

This picture shows Billy working on an Air Ride with a Ferris Wheel on the right of him. The Air Ride is basically the same structure as other Air Rides he has made (with the exception of the one in the Mini-Carnival shown above) but the Ferris Wheel is slightly different than some of the others.