Click here for updates on this story
Hartford, CT (WFSB) — The Bushnell Park carousel in Hartford is 104-years-old and in perfect condition.
For that, it was honored on Friday by the National Carousel Association.
It’s only one of three of its kind in existence.
The traditional carousel organ music, the gleaming painted horses.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s there were thousands of these hand carved carousels in the United States, but now there are 174 and the carousel at Bushnell Park is one of them.
At 104 years old it looks brand new and that’s exactly why it was honored by the National Carousel Association to keep these gorgeous antiques from going extinct.
“Children today have been bombarded with technology that they don’t think about the simplicity of the carousel and so our job is to remind them or teach them that this is a very special art form that they need to cherish, preserve and protect right along with us,” said Louis Demars, Executive Director of New England Carousel Association.
From their beautiful, colorful hand painted cabbage roses to the real hair horse tails, these have been lovingly restored over a period of eight years to their original 1914 glory.
“I’ve been on at least a hundred different carousel rides,” said Jackie Schulman, carousel enthusiast.
Vintage beauty not lost on carousel enthusiasts, who go around the country riding and photographing these stunning works of art.
“It goes slow and all the other rides are scary sometimes,” said Saphrya Lorah, Pine Grove, PA.
A throwback to a bygone era, even appreciated by the next generation.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
