Ride a Piece of History At The New York State Museum’s 1914 Carousel

There is something so comforting and nostalgic about a carousel, and here in Albany you can ride on one from back at the turn of the century. 

It's not every day that you get to take a spin on a real life piece of history. We're very lucky that the New York State Museum is right here in the Capital Region for us to be able to take full advantage of this.

The historic Herschell-Spillman 1914 carousel is operating nearly every day right here in the heart of Albany and over the weekend I took full advantage of taking a spin on this bad boy with my kids. We're always looking for fun things to do, and when it's free that is even better.

The carousel has made the rounds in New York State being in operation since 1914. It traveled all around the fairs around the Southern Tier until 1933 when it became one of the main attractions at Cuba, New York amusement park, which is located southeast of Buffalo.

Purchased by the New York State Museum in March of 1975 from Robert Hopkins of Cuba, New York, the merry-go-round remained in storage at the Museum's collection facility in Rotterdam until it was fully restored and installed in its current location in the newly constructed Terrace Gallery in 2001.

Now this piece of history calls the museum its home and is free for the public to ride at various times throughout the day Tuesday through Saturday. They've done a really wonderful job of preserving the history of this ride. The horses were all hand carved in the late 1800s, I was told by a museum employee.

See The Detail

Not only can you ride on a horse, but there are multiple carriages and other animals for you to hop on.

It truly is a great experience, and if you have little kids it is a perfect way to spend some time without the pricy ticket of an amusement park or fair.