{"nrhp_refnum":"00000363","name":"Herschell, Allan, 3-Abreast Carousel","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"223 E. Cabrillo Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Barbara","county":"Santa Barbara County","state":"CA","lat":34.41513126700005,"lon":-119.68575243099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-abreast carousel made around 1916 by the Allan Herschell Carousel Company of North Tonawanda, New York, now operating in a purpose-built pavilion in Chase Palm Park, 223 E. Cabrillo Blvd., Santa Barbara, California.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the carousel is a well-preserved example of the golden age of American carousel craftsmanship and of animal carving as a functional art form. It is described as one of the largest machines the Herschell company produced, with rare outside-row jumping horses. It is believed that only four park-style carousels were made by the company during 1915-1927. Its carving shows the influence of noted Spillman Engineering carvers.","narrative":"Built around 1916 by the Allan Herschell Carousel Company of North Tonawanda, New York, this 40-foot-diameter carousel carries 35 hand-carved poplar jumping horses and two elaborately carved chariots, one with a sea dragon and a Viking figure in an art deco style. It runs on its original wooden center pole, sweeps and machinery, with a new motor installed to meet safety codes. After years in an eastern amusement park and then storage at Seaport Village in San Diego, it was restored in 1997-1999 and placed in a new octagonal pavilion in Santa Barbara's Chase Palm Park. It was listed for its artistic value as a carousel of the golden age of hand carving. The nomination calls it one of the company's largest machines and notes that the outer-row horses show carving traits associated with Spillman Engineering carvers Daniel Muller and Leo Zoller. Original pieces removed during restoration are kept in storage in Oregon.","period_of_significance":"1916","architect_builder":"Herschell, Allan-carver; pavilion by Cearnal Architects (design) and Melchiori Construction Company (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Operating as a public carousel since June 1999 after restoration; housed in a newly built mission-style octagonal pavilion.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.828827-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/00000363.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000363/f15173f29f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000363/f15173f29f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Nick","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allan_Herschell_3-Abreast_Carousel,_Santa_Barbara,_California.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nick</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allan_Herschell_3-Abreast_Carousel,_Santa_Barbara,_California.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861592","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Herschell_3-Abreast_Carousel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4730685"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-barbara-county/herschell-allan-3-abreast-carousel-00000363/"}