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All the United States Washington, D.C. Carousel on the National Mall

Carousel on the National Mall

Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.

Washington, D.C.

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Ruben Stemple
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The carousel in summer months   Mitch Toda, Smithsonian Institution
Plaque describing the carousel’s history   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
Closed for renovation until 2026   IgFan / Atlas Obscura User
September 2022   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
  ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
View from inside.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  ambentzen / Atlas Obscura User
  ambentzen / Atlas Obscura User
  Ursula / Atlas Obscura User
360 degree view riding the carousel.   mojotexas / Atlas Obscura User
View from the horses   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
View from the fence   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
The carousel from Jefferson Drive   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
Brightly painted horses   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
Brightly painted horses   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
The Allen Hershell Company   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
Sea dragon and a non-moving seat   R Stemple / Atlas Obscura User
One of the colorful mounts on the carousel.   mojotexas / Atlas Obscura User
  e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
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Update as of August 2023: Temporarily closed for renovation until 2026.

Scores of visitors pass by this iconic carousel every summer as they walk the gravel paths along the National Mall and Air and Space Museum. They may not realize that this rotating children's ride has a history more interesting than its appearance would suggest.

The carousel was originally built by the Allen Hershell Company in the 1940s for the Gwynn Oak amusement park near Baltimore. The machine represented something of a technical achievement: the only carousel made with the horses four abreast, all jumping. But that wasn't the only thing unprecedented about the ride.

The Gwynn Oak was originally a segregated amusement park that barred non-whites from entry. After a decade of nonviolent protests, the park management finally agreed to desegregation on August 28, 1963, the same day that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.  On that day, 11-month old Sharon Langley became the first Black child to ride this carousel, along with her father and two white children.

Carousel historian Amy Nathan described in the Washington Post how the next day, "amid all the news stories about the March on Washington, there were also stories on Sharon Langley’s merry-go-round ride. Three kids—one black and two white—riding together provided an example of the harmony King spoke about at the march, when he hoped that one day black children and white children would regard each other as “sisters and brothers.”

The carousel features brightly painted horses, a few non-moving seats, and one sea dragon. All are welcome to ride, as long as you’re willing to pay the ticket price of $3.50. 

Related Tags

Carousels History Civil Rights Amusement Parks

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R Stemple

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IgFan, mojotexas, Elliot Carter, ickaimp...

  • IgFan
  • mojotexas
  • Elliot Carter
  • ickaimp
  • VC Nickels
  • e1savage
  • Collector of Experiences
  • Ursula
  • ambentzen

Published

May 26, 2017

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  • https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_1773
  • http://www.nationalcarousel.com/
  • https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/favorite-smithsonian-carousel
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-march-and-the-merry-go-round/2013/08/23/4b4afa1c-09e2-11e3-8974-f97ab3b3c677_story.html?utm_term=.be3f0da5cbf6
  • http://www.amynathanbooks.com/round_and_round_together_110129.htm
Carousel on the National Mall
867-919 Jefferson Dr SW
Washington, District of Columbia
United States
38.889146, -77.024613
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