![Central Park Carousel (49019860351)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Central_Park_Carousel_%2849019860351%29.jpg)
The Central Park Carousel, officially the Michael Friedsam Memorial Carousel,
[ p.413] is a vintage wood-carved
carousel located in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, at the southern end of the park, near
East 65th Street. It is the fourth carousel on the site where it is located.
History
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.
["Carousel"](_blank)
on the Central Park Conservancy
The Central Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively ...
website
The current carousel is the fourth on the site,
[ p.133] and is part of the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
's "scenic landmark" designation for Central Park.
The carousel was made by Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein in 1908.
It was originally installed in a
trolley terminal in
Coney Island,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
where it operated until the 1940s.
It was relocated to Central Park in 1951 with a new structure surrounding it.
The carousel was renovated in 1982 by the
Central Park Conservancy
The Central Park Conservancy is a private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages Central Park under a contract with the City of New York and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively ...
from a donation from Alan and Katherine Stroock, with the surrounding landscape restored in 1991.
In 2010, the city evicted the previous tenant who managed the Carousel.
The Trump Organization
The Trump Organization is a group of about 500 business entities of which Donald Trump is the sole or principal owner. Around 250 of these entities use the Trump name. The organization was founded in 1927 by Donald Trump's paternal grandmothe ...
, a prominent New York City conglomerate owned by
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
that also operated the nearby
Wollman Rink
Wollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October t ...
, 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 the
Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, the Carousel grossed $1.72 million between 2013 and the end of 2015.
The contract to operate the carousel was later extended through 2021. On January 13, 2021, New York City mayor
Bill de Blasio announced that the city government would be severing all contracts with the Trump Organization, saying Trump had been involved in
the previous week's storming of the United States Capitol. The cancellation of the Trump Organization's contracts to operate
Wollman Rink
Wollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October t ...
,
Lasker Rink
Lasker Rink, dedicated as the Loula D. Lasker Memorial Swimming Pool and Skating Rink was a seasonal ice skating rink and swimming pool at the southwest corner of the Harlem Meer in the northern part of Central Park in Manhattan, New York Cit ...
, and the Central Park Carousel went in effect in February. Central Amusement International, operator of
Victorian Gardens and
Luna Park
Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-s ...
, received a five-year franchise to operate the carousel in July 2021 and began operations there on October 16 that year.
Description
![Day Trip to New York City (2787637251)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Day_Trip_to_New_York_City_%282787637251%29.jpg)
The current carousel is one of the largest merry-go-rounds in the United States.
It has 57 hand-carved horses — 52 jumpers and 5 standers — and two chariots.
The carousel is open seven days a week when weather permits and serves around 250,000 riders every year.
The carousel has a 52-keyless A. Ruth & Sohn Model 33
Band Organ
A fairground organ (french: limonaire) is a French pneumatic musical organ covering the wind and percussive sections of an orchestra. Originated in Paris, France, it was designed for use in commercial fairground settings to provide loud musi ...
playing waltzes, marches, and polkas.
"Central Park Carousel"
on the National Carousel Association website The organ was originally converted to play Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
150 rolls, up until August 2013 when a MIDI-controlled interface replaced the roll system, though it still played in the same arrangement scale.
In popular culture
The carousel that burned down in 1950 was notably mentioned in J. D. Salinger's novel ''The Catcher in the Rye
''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...
''. 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 the Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
* ...
TV series ''The Punisher
The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...
'' (though filming took place at the Forest Park Carousel
The Forest Park Carousel is a historic carousel at Forest Park in Queens, New York City. The carousel, one of two known surviving carousels built by Daniel Carl Muller, was built circa 1903 and contains 52 figures and its original band organ. ''S ...
in Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
).
References
Notes
External links
*
Official website
{{Trump businesses
Central Park
Amusement rides introduced in 1951
Carousels in New York (state)
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan