Forest Pk. Ride Learns Fate June 25
The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will vote June 25 on a proposal to grant landmark status to the Forest Park Carousel, the Times Newsweekly learned on Tuesday, June 11.
A spokesperson for the LPC informed this paper of the scheduled vote hours after a public hearing on the matter was held at the agency’s Lower Manhattan headquarters. Four individuals-including City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley-testified during the hearing, and all spoke in favor of making the carousel one of Queens’ newest landmarks.
After being shuttered for more than four years, the Forest Park Carousel-located adjacent to the Seuffert Bandshell on Forest Park Drive off Woodhaven Boulevard- was reopened last year through an agreement reached between the city’s Parks Department and New York Carousel Entertainment, which also runs the Flushing Meadows Carousel and amusement area.
A merry-go-round has been in place at Forest Park since 1918, but the original ride was destroyed by a fire in 1966. During the 1970s, the current incarnation of the carousel- originally based at the Lakeview amusement park in Dracut, Mass.- was imported to Forest Park.
Restored in 1989, the carousel features 55 wooden horses and other figures, many of which were created by Daniel C. Muller, who was described in an LPC statement as “a leading member of the Philadelphia school of carousel carvings.” The merry-go-round also features ornate decorations, two chariots with bench seating and a band organ.
Reportedly, the Forest Park Carousel is one of only two surviving Muller carousels in the country; the other is located at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio.
The Forest Park Carousel had been in continuous operation from 1989 through 2008, when the previous operator lost its lease with the Parks Department. After the ride was shut down for four years, a movement was undertaken by groups in Woodhaven and surrounding communities to not only have the carousel reopened, but also designated as a landmark.
One of the organizations which campaigned for the landmarking of the Forest Park Carousel is the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation. The organization’s executive director, Maria Thomson, said in a statement sent to the Times Newsweekly and the LPC that the carousel is the “jewel of Forest Park,” having entertained thousands of local children and families for many decades.
“I urge you to approve the landmarking of this wonderful carousel which provides so much enjoyment for our families who visit Forest Park,” Thomson told the LDC in her written testimony. “If our ongoing quest for landmarking is approved, our carousel would never be closed or neglected and funds could be accessed for the maintenance, security and care of this ‘jewel’ and with this protection our carousel will be saved once and for all.”
The Parks Department itself also supports the landmark designation of the carousel. John Krawchuk, director of historic preservation for the agency, officially relayed that message to the LPC at Tuesday’s public hearing, adding that New York Carousel Entertainment “has demonstrated great appreciation for the artistic integrity and history of the carousel.”
“They plan [to] enliven the concession site with entertainment activities that compliment the carousel and are committed to operating the ride as a major historical attraction in Forest Park,” Krawchuk testified. “NYC Parks is proud to support the proposed designation of the Forest Park Carousel as an individual landmark and encourage the commission to vote in favor of the designation.”
Two city-wide architectural organizations also called on the commission to landmark the merry-go-round.
“Some landmarks are serious markers of history, or great religious buildings, or skyscraping cathedrals of commerce, and this is as it should be, but there are certain occasions when a little frivolity is in order,” said Christobel Gough of the Society for the Architecture of the City, adding that “we are happy to add our voice to the many others: please designate this revolving menagerie of early 20th century woodcarvings: ‘the people of the city’ want it.”
The Historic Districts Council (HDC) also submitted a statement adding that the Forest Park Carousel would be the first of its kind in New York and join Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel and Cyclone roller-coaster as the few amusement rides deemed historic landmarks.
“While visitors to museums or private collectors can look at other figures by D.C. Muller & Brother, visitors to Forest Park get to ride these works of art and enjoy them just as they were intended a century ago,” the HDC statement noted.
