Uncovering History

Carousel restorations honor tradition while preserving recreation for the future

By Jefferey Spivey

When visitors buy a ticket to the Balboa Park Carousel in San Diego, their likely objective is a few minutes of traditional, family-friendly fun. But they’re actually experiencing part of the city’s history.

Martin Seck

“Even among original carousels, ours is unique in that we still have all the elements intact,” says Carousel Manager Bill Brown. Built in 1910, the attraction boasts all of its original, hand-carved animals, paintings, and machinery, including its manual transmission, operated with a clutch and brake. Still in pristine shape are the carousel’s military band organ and brass ring game, where patrons try to grab a brass ring from the outer animals in order to win a free ride.  

Additionally, true to 1910, Brown says each five-minute ride is tracked using an egg timer, and, as an attraction originally intended for all ages, the carousel rotates at 13 miles an hour, faster than its modern counterparts.

It’s a truly authentic recreational experience, going beyond nostalgia to offer a window into something timeless. However, keeping this carousel—and so many others—in mint condition requires painstaking work. 

Honoring The Past

The Balboa Park Carousel typically hosts more than 100,000 riders each year, but since November 2022, it has been closed to the public for its first-ever broadscale restoration. The 100-year-old building in which it’s housed is being reinforced and upgraded—wood is being strengthened, and a fire-suppression system is being installed. Also, roof extensions that were added in 1968 are being removed, harkening back to the initial design.

Craig Batrez, VP of Facilities & Operations for Forever Balboa Park, San Diego’s nonprofit partner in preservation, says the carousel reopened to visitors on July 25. Then, the restoration’s second phase will begin—to strengthen the building’s beams and route water to the fire-suppression system.

Though this restoration project is largely structural and focused on the building, a team comprised of six volunteers and a staff member meets weekly to preserve the carousel’s 52 animals. The process involves removing old paint with a heat gun, sanding the animals to uncover the original carvings, and then repainting them. Just as tedious is the process of researching the animals’ original colors.

To restore the carousel’s armored horse, Brown ventured to a museum at the former site of the Herschell-Spillman Factory, where the horse was manufactured. The museum’s curator gave him access to the archives, where he found an image of the armored horse in an illustrated catalog.

“I’m fairly confident that the colors on our armored horse are the colors that [it] wore in 1910,” Brown says. “Wherever we can, we try and be authentic.”

That same attention to period detail applies to the building as well. Elizabeth C. Babcock, Ph.D., Forever Balboa Park’s President and CEO, says the restoration team includes an architectural historian, tasked with analyzing pictures to determine the original colors of the roof, trim, and other parts of the building.

“We spent resources to make sure we’re being cognizant of the history of this really remarkable landscape land-asset in the park,” Babcock says.

A Chance For Modernization

Similar to the Balboa Park Carousel, the historic Stewart Park Carousel, located in Ithaca, N.Y., is a beloved attraction. It opened in 1952 during the post-World War II baby boom, when communities began introducing more child-friendly amenities to parks.

Owned and operated by the city since 1989, the carousel retains its original 30 aluminum horses. During the most recent restoration, which began in 2015 and continued in phases through 2020, the horses were painted for the first time since 1986. Local artists Christi Sobel and Julia John worked on a couple of horses at a time so the carousel didn’t close to the public.

And the restoration also provided an opportunity to introduce new features, including an accessible ramp built by volunteers and an adaptive chariot for riders in wheelchairs.

Janelle Alvstad-Mattson, Communications Coordinator for Friends of Stewart Park, a public nonprofit overseeing the park’s revitalization, says one of the main goals was to make the park “as accessible to everyone as possible.” 

Also, during the project, the property’s chain-link fence was replaced with a more aesthetically pleasing steel-rail fence, and a permanent cover was added. Prior to this, all of the horses were disassembled and stored during the harsh northeastern winters. Now, the horses stay put and see less wear and tear as a result.

The successful multiyear effort to restore the carousel involved a partnership among the Friends of Stewart Park, the Departments of Parks & Forestry and Public Works, the Ithaca Garden Club, Wharton Studio Museum, and Park Architects, a local firm that designed the permanent cover.

However, incorporating third parties doesn’t always go smoothly.

Friends of Stewart Park

The Complexities Of Collaboration

Binghamton, N.Y., is home to two carousels, part of six donated to Broome County by George F. Johnson, the late owner of the Endicott Johnson Shoe Company. As a child, Johnson remembered not having the nickel admission to ride his local carousel, so the only stipulation is that the carousels remain free to the public.

The Ross Park Carousel opened on Memorial Day in 1920, replacing a previous one that had collapsed under the weight of snow during the winter. Today, housed in the Ross Park Zoo, the traveling, carnival-style carousel is one of only four Allan Herschell machines operating—its most famous sibling, the Smithsonian National Carousel, resides on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Also unique to the carousel is that the 72 horses were built four across, an uncommon design today. In fact, protecting the machine’s rare elements was part of the motivation for its restoration, but getting to this stage has been complicated.

The state awarded the city of Binghamton Parks & Recreation a $500,000 grant in 2000 for the restoration. (The city will cover the rest, roughly $250,000.) The plan was to move the carousel and its shelter 200 yards from the current location, which is prone to flooding, and then start restoring the ride itself. Because the carousel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, there was more to consider than a standard revitalization.

“It’s been a[n] extremely slow and time-consuming process to get it exactly how the National Register wants it,” says Pat McGinnis, Commissioner for Binghamton Parks & Recreation. All of the carousel’s horses have been shipped out and are currently stored in a climate-controlled warehouse, but the department is awaiting final approval, which McGinnis hopes to have within the month.

Over the course of eight years, the National Register has approved almost every part of the restoration plan to ensure the historic integrity of the ride. Once approval is finalized, McGinnis estimates the process will take roughly a year. Largely driving that timeframe is a commitment to finding original paint colors.

Also, the horses will be checked to ensure all pieces are attached with wooden dowels, as opposed to metal screws or nails that can cause wood rot. Missing limbs will be carved and reattached as needed. The horses will be reassembled in their original positioning.

McGinnis hopes the carousel will reopen by July 4, 2024, so the ride can continue serving the public and occupy a special place in national history.

“To be able to preserve the legacy of having these rides is important to us,” he says. “It’s also important to the city of Binghamton that these were gifted to us and entrusted to us to make sure people had ample opportunities for recreation.”

Budgeting For Today And Tomorrow

Carousel restoration projects preserve history and provide recreation for locals—goals that align with the greater purposes of public parks. Yet, considerable funding is needed to bring these plans to fruition.

Forever Balboa Park was formed from two prior organizations, one of which owned the carousel. At the time of the purchase, a volunteer board member joined forces with several others to lead a capital campaign to establish a fund for future costs. That fund, along with private philanthropy and grants, is contributing to the current restoration. There’s also revenue from carousel patrons, which goes toward operational costs.

Though the total restoration cost was undisclosed, Babcock and Batrez affirmed it was significant.

“It’s a beloved feature for the community, so we’re happy to make the investment,” Babcock says.

The Stewart Park Carousel totaled $1.2 million, of which $1 million came from New York state as part of a playground-accessibility project. The remaining $200,000 was via partnerships with local organizations and an innovative fundraising campaign in which each individual horse was sponsored for $500.

Major restorations like these aren’t the only concerns, however. At the Prospect Park Carousel, which sees about 70,000 visitors each season (and sits in Prospect Park, which sees 10-million visitors per year), high traffic demands more frequent updates. The nonprofit Prospect Park Alliance undertook an 18-month restoration in 1990, worked on further improvements in 2020, and then restored its horses just two years later.

There’s also ongoing maintenance. McGinnis says that his department budgets about $20,000 each year for professional upkeep of Binghamton’s two carousels, at Ross Park and Recreation Park. 

Yet, some costs can’t be anticipated.

Amanda Gentile

Planning For The Unexpected

For any jurisdiction embarking on a carousel restoration project, clear, detailed plans are important, but so is an expectation that some things won’t go as planned. At Balboa Park, Brown says a structural engineer advised the team to reinforce the carousel building’s rafters before installing a fire-suppression system—an unforeseen expense.

“It’s going to be more complicated than you probably think,” Babcock says.

That makes diversified funding all the more important. Alvstad-Mattson advises municipalities to speak with state representatives about funding, search for grants through nonprofits and tourism boards, and involve the community. When the Stewart Park Carousel’s horses were restored, the painting took place in community spaces like local malls and parks, generating interest and leading locals to ask how they could help.

She also suggests completing the work in phases. For example, Stewart Park’s horses were restored first, then structural changes were completed, and the permanent cover was added last in 2020.

 “I think it really helps to do it a year at a time,” she says.

Jefferey Spivey is a journalist and author based in Urbandale, Iowa. Reach him at jeffereyspivey@gmail.com.