INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help restore an iconic attraction on.
The museum said Thursday that it is looking to raise $100,000 to help rehab the fan-favorite Broad Ripple Park Carousel.
Museum officials say the money will go toward deep-cleaning the hand-painted and carved animals, making enhancements to the mechanical system, and other refurbishments.
President and CEO Jennifer Pace Robinson says that the carousel is an important piece of the museum’s history, and they are dedicated to preserving it.
“Our beloved Carousel is more than just a ride – it’s a source of magic and joy for so many children and their families,” Pace Robinson wrote in a statement. “These essential funds are not just to restore our Carousel’s capabilities and physical appearance, but to restore our visitors’ cherished memories and allow families to create new ones throughout our next 100 years.”
The Carousel is 108 years old and welcomes more than half a million riders each year.
It originally opened at the White City Amusement Park in 1917. The park was later named Broad Ripple Park. Only white families were permitted to ride it at the time.
In 1956, the building that originally housed the ride collapsed, destroying the machinery that rotated it.
The Children’s Museum acquired the animals and parts for the carousel in 1965. However, it took 10 years for officials to be able to restore it.
Museum officials say it is one of about 150 carousels out of 3,500 that were built by American companies from the 1880s to the 1930s that remain. Only a fraction of them still operate.
The campaign to restore the iconic carousel coincides with the museum’s 100th anniversary celebrations. The effort runs through Aug. 22 with the Second Century Soiree, a black-tie fundraising event.
Donations to the fundraising campaign can be made to the Children’s Museum by clicking here.
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