For generations of Long Islanders, Nunley’s Carousel was closely associated with the amusement park that stood along Sunrise Highway in Baldwin. But the carousel began its life in Brooklyn decades before it became a Long Island landmark.
The wooden carousel was built in 1912 by the Stein & Goldstein Artistic Carousell Co. of Brooklyn and operated at Golden City Park in Canarsie. There it was known as “Murphy’s” carousel.
The Long Island Children’s Museum says the carousel entertained visitors at Golden City for 26 years before moving to Baldwin in 1939. The National Carousel Association lists its history at Golden City from 1912 to 1939 and at Nunley’s Amusements in Baldwin from 1940 to 1995.
By the late 1980s, the carousel’s future was already uncertain. After fears that Nunley’s might not reopen following the 1987 season, the amusement park operated again in 1988 while efforts were underway to preserve the carousel. That October, the U.S. Postal Service established a temporary postal station at Nunley’s for the second day of issue of four carousel postage stamps. Friends for Long Island’s Heritage sold a special cover featuring a Nunley’s carousel horse and cancellation, with proceeds going toward efforts to save the carousel.
The carousel remained at Nunley’s until the Baldwin amusement park closed in 1995. Nassau County then purchased the historic ride to preserve it.
According to the National Carousel Association, the carousel was stored in Garden City from 1995 until 2007. It was then sent to Mansfield, Ohio, for a two-year restoration before returning to Garden City in 2009.
The restored carousel was installed in a new building on Museum Row, where it remains today. The Long Island Children’s Museum operates it in partnership with Nassau County.
Much of the character of the century-old ride remains. The National Carousel Association classifies it as a three-row classic wooden carousel and lists 30 jumping horses, 11 standing horses, one lion and two chariots. Its ring arm is also still operational, preserving the old carousel tradition of riders reaching for rings as they pass.
The carousel is now a relatively rare surviving example of the work of Stein & Goldstein. The Long Island Children’s Museum identifies it as one of only three surviving carousels made by the Brooklyn company.
In 2020, the National Carousel Association presented Nunley’s Carousel with its Historic Carousel Award.
The carousel also has a connection to one of Long Island’s best-known musicians. Billy Joel’s 2001 classical album “Fantasies & Delusions” includes the composition “Waltz #1 (Nunley’s Carousel).”
More than a century after it was built, the carousel’s history spans three locations: the Brooklyn waterfront, Nunley’s in Baldwin and its present home on Museum Row in Garden City.
Sources:
- Long Island Children’s Museum — Nunley’s Carousel
https://www.licm.org/visit/nunleys/ - National Carousel Association — Nunley’s Carousel
https://carousels.org/USACensus/census.pl?NCANo=118 - National Carousel Association — Historic Carousel Awards
https://www.carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-awards.html - Billy Joel — Fantasies & Delusions
https://www.billyjoel.com/music/opus-1-10-fantasies-delusions-music-solo-piano/ - Billy Joel — Waltz #1 (Nunley’s Carousel)
https://www.billyjoel.com/song/waltz-1-nunleys-carousel-3/ - Carousel News & Trader — “Nunley’s Carousel Struggles to Survive,” January 1989
https://carouselhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Carousel-news-and-trader-January-1989.pdf
Photo:Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
