The B&B Carousell: Historic Hand-Carved Wooden Steeds

Why is it significant?

Step inside the pavilion near West Twentieth Street and listen to the jubilant brassy wheeze of the band organ. Before you spins the B&B Carousell, a breathtaking mechanical dream of fifty hand-carved wooden horses, two chariots, and hundreds of twinkling incandescent lights.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Step inside the pavilion near West Twentieth Street and listen to the jubilant brassy wheeze of the band organ. Before you spins the B&B Carousell, a breathtaking mechanical dream of fifty hand-carved wooden horses, two chariots, and hundreds of twinkling incandescent lights. Constructed around 1906 by master carousel carvers William F. Mangels and Marcus Charles Illions, this magnificent ride is the sole surviving vintage carousel from the golden era when more than twenty carousels operated along the Coney Island shoreline.

Marcus Illions was the acknowledged master of the flamboyant Coney Island style of carousel carving. Look closely at the spirited stallions: their wild flowing manes are embellished with gold leaf, real horsehair tails flick in the breeze, and their wide, fiery eyes and flared nostrils capture the unbridled kinetic energy of horses galloping at full tilt. No two steeds are identical; each was chiseled from solid blocks of basswood and individually painted by master decorative artisans. The ride's meticulous restoration preserves the dazzling artistic craftsmanship of Coney Island's golden age, allowing twenty-first-century children to experience the exact same joyful carousel magic that enchanted their great-grandparents a century ago.

The ride operated for decades along Surf Avenue under the loving stewardship of William Bishoff and Herbert Bodkin, giving the carousel its affectionate B&B moniker. In 2005, when the ride was threatened with being auctioned off and dismantled into private art collections, the City of New York stepped in and purchased it for 1.8 million dollars, sending the horses to master restorers in Marion, Ohio, to restore their authentic 1906 colors.

Watch the smiling children and nostalgic grandparents reaching outward to grab the imaginary brass ring as the wooden horses rise and fall in hypnotic harmony.

Step out onto the wooden boardwalk and walk east toward West Nineteenth Street, where the red steel tower of the Parachute Jump dominates the beach.