The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Greenway welcomes new carousel, shade grove

News+Staff+Photo%2FMary+Whitfill
News Staff Photo/Mary Whitfill

By Mary Whitfill, News Staff

photo 1
News Staff Photo/Mary Whitfill

Three-year-old Camden Layton smiled to himself as he slid off his first ride on the newly opened Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Carousel.

“I rode the lobster, it was fun,” he giggled before he buried his head in his father, Dan Layton’s, chest.

“We were coming down here to go to the aquarium and we saw this going by and it was just an automatic thing,” Dan said. “Kids love it, plus the characters on it are really cool, there is a lot outside the traditional horse and stuff so it’s pretty neat.”

The new ride, designed and built over three years by sculptor Jeff Briggs of Newburyport, took its first spin last week on the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway located behind Quincy Market.

The carousel is situated in the Tiffany & Co. Foundation Grove on the Greenway, between the Armenian Heritage Park and the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion. The Grove features seasonal gardens surrounding the carousel and also provides bike racks, movable furniture, food trucks and a granite wall with mahogany seating.

“Essentially we have several principal funders. Amalie Kass, for one, is a local philanthropist with the Boston Foundation who donated the whole carousel and dedicated it to her husband. She really loved the idea of a carousel on the greenway,” Charlie McCabe, director of public programs for the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy said. “Tiffany & Co. helped us do everything that is around the ride. They helped us make sure that the foundation was stable beneath the carousel and we also wanted to create an area that was shady and comfortable for spectators. We’ve planted 36 trees in the area around the carousel and also planted a lot of native plants.”

News Staff Photo/Mary Whitfill
News Staff Photo/Mary Whitfill

The new carousel is within walking distance of Boston’s North End, the New England Aquarium, Boston’s Children’s Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art. The new permanent structure replaced a rental carousel that stood in its place for the last four summers.

“We always knew a carousel would be great there, which is why we had the temporary one in place for so long,” McCabe said. “But when we rented it, it was owned by the operator and we had to use it under his terms, we were only able to have it April through August. Now that we own it, we work closely with an operator who helps us keep it open from April until New Year’s.”

The ride includes 36 seats made from 24 unique characters, including a sea turtle, cod, falcon, butterflies and a skunk. Those who are likely to use the carousel the most, Boston-area elementary students, chose the distinctive animals featured.

“We wanted to do something fun and we had some relationships with these local schools and it was an opportunity to see what folks would be interested in seeing,” McCabe said. “We wanted to make sure we were doing something fun for parents, kids and adults. We noticed they wanted more animals that were from the area. Not horses and fantasy creatures, but crickets and fish and that kind of thing.”

The Greenway Conservancy asked students in four local elementary schools to draw the characters they would most like to ride. Students from James F. Condon School, Roger Clap Elementary, the Eliot School and the Advent School helped come up with characters, including a grasshopper, squirrel, barn owl and whale.

The carousel is unique in that Briggs built it to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and it includes a special seat, featuring a harbor seal, built to allow people with back problems to ride more comfortably. The carousel is also handicapped accessible, allowing visitors in wheelchairs easy access to the ride. People in wheelchairs have access to four seats: the seal, a rabbit with a carrot in its mouth, a chariot and a rocking boat.

“We wanted to make the carousel more accessible to people of all abilities,” McCabe said. “We have a ramp and we have several places where people with wheelchairs can enjoy the ride. It overall creates a more accessible environment which is really what the park is about.”

An attraction for Boston residents and tourists alike, brothers and Florida natives Jackson, 5, and Christopher Silva, 2, scrambled over each other to get the “best animal” on Sunday afternoon.

“Boys!,” David Silva, the boys’ father shouted while chasing chasing after them.

“We are here for my wife’s medical conference and we were headed to the harbor when we saw this,” Silva said. “I’m sure we’ll be riding it many times before we actually see the water, they are really excited.”

The carousel is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. until Oct. 13. Following Columbus Day, the ride will be open only on weekends through New Year’s Eve. Tickets are $3 per ride or 10 for $25.

More to Discover