District of Columbia

Washington D. C., National Cathedral

All Hallows Guild Carousel

Making an appearance for only 2 days each year (1^st Friday and Saturday of May) at the Flower Mart at the National Cathedral is the All Hallows Guild Carousel. The manufacturer is not known for certain, but the National Carousel Association thinks it may have been made by the United States Merry-Go-Round Company in the1890s. If it is a United States Merry-Go-Round Company carousel, it is only one of two still operating. The other is in Borough Park in Albion, Pennsylvania. The carousel is a well-maintained, two-row, portable, stationary model with 9 jumpers, 4 standers, 2 chariots, and 9 menagerie animals including 2 camels, 2 goats, 1 lion, 1 zebra, 2 deer, and 1 elephant. The carousel is on the National Register of Historic Places.

When we visited the carousel in May 2022, three animals were not on the platform. Apparently, they had been removed for restoration.

From the time of manufacturer until 1941, the carousel traveled with a carnival in Maryland after which it became part of Sandy’s Amusements where it operated until 1963. It has been at All Hallows Guild since 1964.

The band organ is a Wurlitzer Caliola 4328.

For operating time visit their web site (allhallowsguild.org/programs/flower-mart) or call 202-537-2937.

Regrettably, this carousel is a perfect example of a piece of history that has been purchased by a private organization, and one can only view it two days each year. In fact, when we visited the carousel in May, 2022, because of the pandemic, it was the first time the carousel had made an appearance since May 2019.

For additional information:

The National Carousel Association

http://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-CLA.html

National Mall Carousel

Carousel on the National Mall

Located in Washington, D. C. is the Carousel on the National Mall. The carousel is located on the Mall across Jefferson Avenue from the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. The carousel is a 1947 Allan Herschell. We usually focus only on pre-1930, all wooden and hard carved carousels, but this one is special. From 1947 to 1972, the carousel was in Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Maryland.

For nearly 10 years, Black and white people from various walks of life protested the persistent segregation policies at the privately Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in Baltimore, Maryland. On July 4, a large protest organized by the Congress or Racial Equality (CORE), the NAACP, and the National Council of Churches was held at the park. Nearly 300 people from Baltimore, Washington, D. C., and Philadelphia including several Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant clergy who had come to the park to protest the park’s segregation policies were arrested.

On August 28, 1963, Gwynn Oak opened its doors to the public. Ironically, this was the same day Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech during the March on Washington. 11-month-old Sharon Langley became the first African-American to integrate the Gwynn Oak Carousel and the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park (see photo of Sharon and her father, Charles, which was originally published in the Baltimore Sun). Sharon has written a book about the experience entitled, A Ride to Remember. Other photos are included. We suspect these photos are also from the Baltimore Sun. The carousel has been on the national Mall since 1981.