{"nrhp_refnum":"91001966","name":"Ross Park Carousel","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Ross Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Binghamton","county":"Broome County","state":"NY","lat":42.07544955900005,"lon":-75.90749475899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-01-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Entertainment/Recreation","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A hand-carved wooden carousel and its sixteen-sided open wooden pavilion in Ross Park Zoo, Binghamton, Broome County, New York. It was made by the Allan Herschell Company and purchased around 1920.","why_significant":"It is significant under criterion A as a tangible example of welfare capitalism, donated to the community by Endicott Johnson president George F. Johnson for free public use. Under criterion C it is a rare surviving hand-carved all-wooden Allan Herschell carousel, one of only three four-abreast machines of that firm, all in Broome County. Its original pavilion and park setting add to its significance.","narrative":"Sixty carved wooden horses and two chariots circle beneath a sixteen-sided open pavilion in Ross Park Zoo, Binghamton. The carousel was built by the Allan Herschell Company of North Tonawanda and bought around 1920 by Endicott Johnson president George F. Johnson, who gave it to the public to ride free of charge. It was one of six carousels the Johnson family gave to Broome County communities between 1919 and 1934. The carousel is valued as an example of welfare capitalism, in which employers shaped workers' recreation through park and leisure facilities. It is also valued as one of only nineteen surviving hand-carved all-wooden Herschell carousels and one of three four-abreast models, all in Broome County. Its figures keep their original carving, though the paint dates from a 1987-88 restoration, and a restored Wurlitzer band organ still plays. The original pavilion and the wooded park setting also survive.","period_of_significance":"1920","architect_builder":"Allan Herschell Company","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still operating and offering rides free of charge; the carousel, figures and band organ were restored in 1987-89 and the pavilion roof was reshingled in 1989.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:46.046893-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/91001966.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001966/56afe20a2c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91001966/56afe20a2c-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Ammodramus","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ross_Park_Carousel_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ammodramus</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ross_Park_Carousel_1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312154","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Park_Carousel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7369559"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/broome-county/ross-park-carousel-91001966/"}