Jane's Carousel and Empire Fulton Ferry: Waterfront Whimsy

Why is it significant?

Step onto the riverbank lawn at Empire Fulton Ferry Park and behold the magical sight of Jane's Carousel spinning serenely inside a luminous transparent acrylic pavilion designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.

Key Facts

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Step onto the riverbank lawn at Empire Fulton Ferry Park and behold the magical sight of Jane's Carousel spinning serenely inside a luminous transparent acrylic pavilion designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. Forty-eight meticulously hand-carved wooden horses and two ornate chariots glide up and down in a kaleidoscopic whirl of gold leaf, vibrant enamel, and gleaming brass poles. Reflected in the soaring glass enclosure, the glittering towers of Lower Manhattan appear to dance alongside the painted steeds as festive calliope waltzes drift out over the East River.

This masterwork of American folk art was originally built in nineteen twenty-two by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio. When the amusement park was devastated by fire and shuttered in nineteen eighty-four, Brooklyn real estate pioneer David Walentas and his artist wife Jane bought the historic carousel at auction for three hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars. Jane Walentas then dedicated twenty-seven painstaking years to hand-scraping decades of grime and lead paint with X-Acto knives to restore every horse to its original Roaring Twenties grandeur. To ensure that the beloved mechanism would withstand riverside moisture and winter storms, Walentas collaborated with modern structural engineers to install specialized climate control systems that maintain constant humidity inside the jewel-like glass vitrine year-round.

Look closely at the intricately carved figures: each horse possesses its own unique personality and hand-carved saddle gear, including three rows of prancing jumpers, real horsehair tails, and sparkling cut-glass jewels embedded in their bridles.

Watch how the sunset casts shimmering ribbons of amber across the river waves, bouncing off the glass pavilion and bathing the carousel horses in an ethereal, dreamlike glow.

Follow the waterfront esplanade westward toward the historic ferry slip and the celebrated landmark dining room of The River Café.