40°46′12″N73°58′31″W / 40.769939°N 73.975261°W /40.769939; -73.975261
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TheCentral Park Carousel, officially theMichael Friedsam Memorial Carousel,[1] is a vintage wood-carvedcarousel located inCentral Park inManhattan,New York City, at the southern end of the park, nearEast 65th Street. It is the fourth carousel on the site where it is located.
The original 1871 carousel was powered by a mule or horse under its platform, signaled to start and stop by the operator tapping his foot. The two succeeding versions were destroyed by fires in 1924 and 1950.[2]
The current carousel is the fourth on the site,[2][3] and is part of theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission's "scenic landmark" designation for Central Park.[3] The carousel was made by Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein in 1908.[2] It was originally installed in atrolley terminal inConey Island,Brooklyn,[2][4][5][6] where it operated until the 1940s.[2][5][6] It was relocated to Central Park in 1951 with a new structure surrounding it.[1][3][5][6] The carousel was renovated in 1982 by theCentral Park Conservancy from a donation from Alan and Katherine Stroock, with the surrounding landscape restored in 1991.[2]
In 2010, the city evicted the previous tenant who managed the Carousel.The Trump Organization, a prominent New York City conglomerate owned byDonald Trump that also operated the nearbyWollman Rink, was selected as the new tenant. In return for a lease until 2020, Trump promised to invest $400,000 in renovations over ten years and pay a yearly lease that started at $250,000 and scaled up to $325,000. In statements released as part of theDonald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, the Carousel grossed $1.72 million between 2013 and the end of 2015.[7] The contract to operate the carousel was later extended through 2021.[8] On January 13, 2021, New York City mayorBill de Blasio announced that the city government would be severing all contracts with the Trump Organization, saying Trump had been involved inthe previous week's storming of the United States Capitol. The cancellation of the Trump Organization's contracts to operateWollman Rink,Lasker Rink, and the Central Park Carousel went in effect in February.[9][10] Central Amusement International, operator ofVictorian Gardens andLuna Park, received a five-year franchise to operate the carousel in July 2021 and began operations there on October 16 that year.[11][12]
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The current carousel is one of the largest merry-go-rounds in the United States.[2] It has 57 hand-carved horses — 52 jumpers and 5 standers — and two chariots.[3] The carousel is open seven days a week when weather permits and serves around 250,000 riders every year.[2] The carousel has a 52-keyless A. Ruth & Sohn Model 33Band Organ playing waltzes, marches, and polkas.[13] The organ was originally converted to playWurlitzer 150 rolls, up until August 2013 when a MIDI-controlled interface replaced the roll system, though it still played in the same arrangement scale.
The carousel that burned down in 1950 was notably mentioned inJ. D. Salinger's novelThe Catcher in the Rye. It had the traditional feature of a brass ring for the rider to grab, used by Salinger in the story. The ring feature was not replaced when the current carousel was built. This one is featured in theMarvel TV seriesThe Punisher (though filming took place at theForest Park Carousel inQueens).
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Media related toCentral Park Carousel at Wikimedia Commons
