Stewart Park Carousel

As child focused recreation grew popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a spray play ”splash pad” area and playground were installed southwest of the main park buildings. The highlight of this new play area was the carousel, installed in 1951. A colorful new carousel was purchased from the relatively local company out of the Buffalo area, Herschell. The carousel was privately run from 1952-1998, when it was sold to the City. It generally runs Memorial Day weekend-Labor Day weekend. Carousel horses were repainted in 1986 by Trumansburg artist Annie Campbell and again in 2014 by Ithaca artists Christi Sobel and Julia John. In 2018, Friends of Stewart Park spearheaded an initiative to have the accessible wheelchair ramp and chariot added. 2020 brought the installation of this permanent open pavilion style cover for the carousel, which allows the structure to remain in place year-round while protecting it from the elements.

On your way to this Carousel, you passed the new accessible playground. These new structures were installed between 2018 and 2020, with accessibility in mind, so that children of all abilities can play side by side. The large expansive green school-age section includes access points at varying elevations, and the “wooden” pre-school section (built by over 900 community volunteers!) cite’s Stewart Park’s history of trolleys, steamships and the film studio.

Friends of Stewart Park’s next plan for this playground area is to replace the 70 year old splash pad with one that is bigger, interactive and water efficient, and build a seasonal bathroom building nearby.