Seaside Heights Carousel Reopening Anticipated In Spring 2024

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — It's been more than four years since Seaside Heights boardwalk patrons have been able to ride the historic Dr. Floyd L. Moreland Carousel.

It looks like carousel fans will have to wait a bit longer, as the borough waits for needed railings to be installed so the ride can be inspected by the state, borough administrator Christopher Vaz confirmed Thursday.

"The railings need to be installed. We expected that to be done this week, but there is a delay. In the meantime, we are working on the paperwork aspects of the state permit," Vaz said.

The borough had hoped to have the carousel operating for Christmas, the Asbury Park Press reported.

The restoration has earned the borough the 2024 Ocean County Historic Preservation Award, which is scheduled to be presented to town officials in a May celebration at the annual Salute to Ocean County ceremony at the Jay & Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College, according to the Seaside Heights Historical Society.

The carousel was shut down in the spring of 2019 at its former site inside the Casino Pier amusements building in preparation for its move to the building on the boardwalk at Sampson Avenue.

Seaside Heights received the carousel and an oceanfront parking lot at Carteret and Sampson avenues as part of a controversial land swap agreement that gave Casino Pier a 1.37-acre parcel of beachfront at Sheridan Avenue. A 67-acre piece of property on the west side of the Garden State Parkway in Toms River, preserved as open space, was part of the deal as well.

The Dentzel/Looff Carousel, which was built in 1910 and moved to Seaside Heights in 1932, was carefully dismantled in 2019 for a complete restoration effort that included removal of and repairs to the Wurlitzer Band Organ that plays the music. It was sent to York, Pennsylvania, for repairs, the Asbury Park Press reported at the time.

All of inner workings of the ride have been repaired and restored by Carousels & Carvings of Marion, Ohio, and the wooden elements, including the 58 animals — 35 jumping horses, 18 standing horses, two camels, a lion, a tiger and a donkey — have been restored. Two chariots have been painted as well and one is being retrofitted to accommodate a wheelchair, according to the Seaside Heights Historical Society. Local artist Marie De Saules has contributed many hours working on the restoration, painting the organ and some of the horses.

The carousel, which was valued between $2.3 million and $2.5 million in 2019, is one of four remaining wooden carousels in New Jersey and one of about 200 still operating in the United States and Canada, according to the National Carousel Association.

This is not the first time the carousel has been restored. In the 1980s, Dr. Floyd L. Moreland oversaw the restoration of the carousel, which was in bad shape at the time; it was named in his honor as a result. He has stopped by the new site to see the progress, the Seaside Heights Historical Society said.

Moreland's restoration effort came about because of discussions about selling off the animals on the carousel, according to the Discover Seaside Heights website. The site says carousel animals were selling for $100,000 or more at that time. Moreland, who was a professor at the City University of New York, and others raised money to prevent the sell-off.

The current restoration work has been funded through a combination of private donations and a $750,000 grant from the state Historic Preservation Commission.