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Jane's Carousel


Photo Credit: Urban Compass

Jane's Carousel (formerly Idora Park Merry-Go-Round) is a hand-carved wooden carousel that now resides in Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO.

It was built in 1922 for the Idora Park amusement park in Youngstown, Ohio by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 6, 1975, and was, in fact, the first carousel to receive such designation. It features 48 hand-carved horses.

In 1984, it was sold in auction for $385,000 to Brooklyn residents David and Jane Walentas, a former art director for Estee Lauder. Jane slowly restored the merry-go-round over the next 22 years - it had its first reveal on October 13, 2006, where it was rechristened "Jane's Carousel". In 2007, Jane agreed to donate the carousel, along with funding to build a pavilion and $3.45 million toward landscaping and improvements, to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation.

On September 16, 2011, the carousel officially opened to the public for the first time in 27 years in its new home in Bridge Park at 65 Water Street in Brooklyn. It sits on the western edge of the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park inside its glass walled pavilion, which was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. The carousel is open Wednesday - Monday from 11am-7pm during the Summer and Thursday - Sunday from 12pm-6pm in winter. Stop by to catch a ride while taking in the stunning Manhattan skyline.

Photocredit: Jane's Carousel

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