GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Restoration work began on the Spillman Carousel at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in 2017. The nearly 100-year-old carousel has been closed to the public since 2020 for the work.
The museum is not ready yet to announce a reopening date, but said they are in "the final stages of carousel renovation."
"We're super excited," said Alee'a Cherry, marketing manager, "It is a community icon."
The Spillman Carousel was built in 1928. It was brought to Grand Rapids Public Museum in 1994.
During the restoration work, a lot of it was done on the inside including mechanical renovations, a new center poll, new bearings, and more.
Also, exhibit workers have been repainting the animals by hand.
"A lot of the carousel animals are quite similar," said Stevie Hornyak, the exhibit coordinator specialist, "Now with us hand painting them, we’re able to give each animals their own personality, so not every animal will look the same."
The original horses were spray-painted with car paint, which was toxic. After stripping down the old paint, the workers are using a water-based paint and adding much more details.
The workers have finished a couple of horses, the deer (featuring real antlers), and the giraffe. The giraffe took more than 200 hours to paint alone.
"That is actually something Spillman was known for," said Hornyak, "He was the first one to dive in and put different animals on the carousel."
The carousel was never a traveling carousel, built to be taken down and put back up. In fact, the track is not even on the ground, but suspended and operated by bearings.
"It really pushed a lot of industrial revolution," said Hornyak, "Carousels before may have been pushed by hand. But with the steam engine, that’s when you get the mechanics going. And with electricity, it really glistened because no one had seen this before."
The carousel is an icon in Grand Rapids, sitting on the banks of the Grand River right downtown at the museum.
"I feel like the carousel is a staple for the Grand Rapids community," said Hornyak, "It’s been sitting on the water since 1994. It’s something people love to see, walking around with the lights. Everyone here has experienced it and enjoyed it, and now families are bringing their own children to enjoy it."
The GRPM is looking for the public's help in creating buzz for the reopening. They are asking for community photos from years past on the carousel. You can submit your photos on their website.
RELATED VIDEO: Grand Rapids carousel undergoing renovation
GRPM Carousel restoration
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