NAP- Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket

By Dani Safford of the Pawtucket Times

PAWTUCKET - The sounds from the authentic 1909 North Tonawanda band organ could be heard coming from the Looff Carousel in Slater Park Saturday morning after being closed to the public for most of the summer so renovations could be made to the interior ceiling, walls and windows.

"The carousel has been closed since June. They had to go and repaint because the ceiling was peeling terribly," said Grace Burns, who works in the carousel concession stand selling tickets.
Constructed by Charles I. D. Looff in 1895, the carousel was originally located at Lee Funland in New
York and then moved to Slater Park in 1910 where it has remained since. Purported by historians to be the oldest Looff Stander Carousel in the world, the machine at Slater Park is also said to be the fastest Looff Carousel made and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"It's great that they keep putting work into keeping the carousel running in good condition," said Beth Rivard of Pawtucket.
In 1967, the carousel fell into disrepair and was closed. With funding provided by the city and the Rhode Island Historic Preservation commission, the ride was refurbished and reopened in June of 1979. More recently, the Parks and Recreation Division have begun a refurbishment project to restore the carousel to the exact condition it was upon its arrival at Slater Park.
"We've had the same children coming here since they were six months old and there was one who is six years old now and his mother had to drive him by to show him that the carousel wasn't open," Burns said, explaining that many neighborhood families were anticipating the reopening of the ride.
After being housed in Slater Park for nearly a century, the Looff Carousel restoration projects aim to continually maintain the condition of the ride so that both past and future generations will be familiar with it.
"My kids used to ride it, my grandkids ride it and even I used to ride it so it's nice that all the different ages get to take part in it," said Donna Dufresne of Pawtucket.
Over the next few years, the picture frames, rounding boards, sweeps, platform and the interior of the building will undergo transformations to restore them to historical accuracy.
Estimated by park officials to cost a quarter million dollars, the improvements will be entirely funded by concessions, donations and the funds from each carousel ride.
"Where else can you take the family out for twenty-five cents?" said Burns of the carousel. "It's a very family fun thing."
The Looff Carousel at Slater Park costs 25 cents a ride and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.