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Smithsonian National Mall Carousel Reopens Following Three-Year Restoration
The Smithsonian Institution's carousel reopened on April 25, 2026, following nearly three years of restoration. The event featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony with first riders including African American adults who desegregated it in 1963. NPR reported the carousel's history ties to civil rights milestones and includes updated features like an ADA-compliant chariot.
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The Smithsonian Institution's carousel reopened on April 25, 2026, after being closed for nearly three years for restoration and refurbishments. A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the occasion at the Smithsonian National Carousel, located in front of the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building.
The first riders on the reopened carousel were a group of African American adults from Baltimore who desegregated it in 1963 at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. A woman who first rode the carousel in 1966 at age 13 joined the group. Her son was a Marine who died in Afghanistan in 2008.
Sharon Langley, who was 11 months old when she became the first African American child to ride the carousel at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park on August 28, 1963, rode it again this week on a horse named Freedom Rider. Langley co-wrote a children's book about her experience.
She referred to the coincidence with Dr. 's 'I Have A Dream' speech on the National Mall that same day. The carousel was first desegregated as part of Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Baltimore in 1963, with integration occurring on August 28, 1963, after several years of protests by Black and white activists.
On July 4, 1963, a white demonstrator was arrested along with some 400 other demonstrators protesting the whites-only policy at the park in suburban Woodlawn, Maryland.
NPR reported that Gwynn Oak Amusement Park closed in 1973 after Hurricane Agnes devastated its rides and buildings, leading to the carousel going into storage. The carousel was moved to the National Mall after Gwynn Oak Amusement Park closed. Then-Smithsonian Secretary S.
