Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) announce the opening of Nunley’s Carousel at the Nassau County Children’s Museum in Spring 2009 after months of restoration.
This spring, the historic Nunley’s Carousel will re-open on Nassau County’s Museum Row, after a two-year restoration project. The carousel was closed and dismantled in 1995 at its Baldwin location, Nunley’s Amusement Park, where it had been a beloved fixture since 1939. To save it from being auctioned off horse by horse, Nassau County purchased the ride for $854,400 in 1998.
The Ohio-based Carousel Works has been handling the restoration. The $484,000 contract, which comes from discretionary funds secured by Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) includes the reconditioning of the frame and mechanism, the horses, the chariots and lion, the scenery panels, the mirror panels, the operating controls, and the original Wurlitzer 153 organ.
The ride was built in 1912 by the noted carousel building team of Stein and Goldstein, and its first home was an amusement park in Canarsie. Of the 17 carousels built by Stein and Goldstein, Nunley’s is one of just three that remain.
Two years ago, the County gave Nunley’s Carousel a proper send-off as they hit the road to be refurbished. The carousel, which was previously in storage at the Cradle of Aviation, was shipped to Ohio to be restored and beautified before coming back home to Nassau County.
County Executive Suozzi has long supported the plan to bring the Nunley’s Carousel back to Nassau County. The restoration and relocation is the result of the work of local elected officials and community members, beginning with the County’s purchase of the carousel in 1998 for $854,400 to save it from being auctioned off horse by horse. Suozzi has also announced that the county has budgeted $1 million for a new enclosure for the carousel at its new Museum Row location.
Nassau County’s students have played a crucial role in preserving the carousel. Rachel Obergh, a student at the Progressive School of Long Island in Merrick, started a fundraising campaign in 2006 to pay for Nunley’s restoration. “Pennies for Pennies” has succeeded in seeing each of the 42 carousel animals adopted for restoration at $2,000 each by schools, a Baldwin hardware store, the Lercari family - who owned Nunley's -, and County Executive Suozzi.
This one-of-a-kind carousel has a special place in so many people’s hearts, and Nassau County is thrilled to be getting it back in operation in a centrally located new home so that all the residents of Nassau County can enjoy it. Nunley’s will be joining the all-star lineup on Museum Row, giving people yet another great reason to visit.
Although Nunley’s Carousel won’t be moving to its new home until the springtime, residents can still take advantage of all that Nassau County has to offer on Museum Row. Located on Charles Lindbergh Blvd. in Garden City, Museum Row is also home to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, the Children’s Museum of Long Island, the Long Island Museum for Science and Technology and the Nassau County Firefighter’s Museum.
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