108-year-old carousel at Herndon park to be removed after damage from winter storms

A 108-year-old carousel at the Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Virginia, is now permanently out of commission due to winter storm damage.

The carousel, which was built to be portable, dates back to 1918, though the Fairfax County Park Authority first bought it in 1975. It had been running at Frying Pan Farm Park since 2011, per a sign on the ride’s history produced by the Fairfax County Park Authority.

On the park’s website, officials explained that stormy winter weather in January left the ride “severely damaged” and that “after detailed inspections by staff and specialists, the ride was found to be unsafe to repair or operate. For the safety of visitors and staff, the carousel will be permanently closed and removed from the park.”

Fairfax County Park Authority Marketing and Communications Division Director Daidria Grayson told WTOP-FM that “a lot of the damage was in the canopy part … a new carousel is definitely in the works.”

The now-defunct Frying Pan Farm Park carousel had last undergone restoration work in 2018, according to Northern Virginia Magazine.

The carousel is one of about 3,000 built by the company of Allan Herschell. 

Another Herschell carousel is owned by the Smithsonian Institution. The current iteration of the carousel has been undergoing renovation work but is due back on the National Mall starting next month, according to the Smithsonian magazine.

The Smithsonian carousel, built in 1947, replaced an earlier model built in 1922. It is also notable for its role in regional desegregation efforts. Prior to its 1981 purchase by the Smithsonian, the carousel had been in place at the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Baltimore, according to the Smithsonian archives and magazine.

The Baltimore park, which closed in 1973 due to hurricane damage, was originally a segregated facility. Sharon Langley, a Black child, integrated the park and rode the carousel on Aug. 28, 1963, the same day as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, according to the Smithsonian magazine.

Another Herschell carousel is in operation at Trimper Rides in Ocean City, Maryland. That carousel, bought in 1912, is “one of the oldest still operating in the U.S.” and is a sister ride to a carousel once in operation at New York’s Coney Island that was lost to a fire, according to the Trimper Rides website.