What it will take for the Griffith Park merry-go-round to finally spin again

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Set us as preferred Nestled a short stroll from the Griffith Park Ranger Station, near some tennis courts and not far from the remains of the park’s original zoo lies a gem that is on most days behind lock and key.The Griffith Park merry-go-round, which turned 100 this year, stands motionless, many of its 66 wooden horses weathered and caught mid-ascent.

But the effort to ensure that they once again rise, fall and spin around a spherical base has begun.The Griffith Park merry-go-round is being resurrected by a group of passionate supporters and volunteers, some of whom are veterans of the theme park industry.

Collectively, they argue that this isn’t simply a relic from another era, but a place of multigenerational connection, a reminder of the beauty of handmade art and a statement piece of Los Angeles.Shuttered since the COVID-19 pandemic, save for a brief but limited run in 2022, the Griffith Park carousel is now under city control, purchased last year for $1 million.

That’s a veritable bargain for such a museum piece, argues Tracy James, who is leading the efforts to restore the project, one that’s expected to take at least two years and cost millions.“This is the jewel in the middle of the city,” says James, who works in the Department of Recreation and Parks and focuses on Griffith Park.“The ornamentation and the craftsmanship represent a bygone era.”There was a real fear, James says, that the merry-go-round would fall into the hands of a private collector, as the carousel, if not officially, has long symbolically belonged to L.A.

A piece of whimsy, artistry and play in the middle of a natural wonderland, it is where Walt Disney is said to have dreamed up the vision for what would become the Disneyland Resort and a site that has withstood Civil Rights actions and ’60s-era love-ins.To some, it’s a b...