On Wednesday, Dec. 11th after we left the Brooklyn Museum and got tix for the Temptations show on Broadway, mom and I hopped on a free downtown manhattan bus and headed for the Seaglass Carousel.
Bev had told me about it; she’d seen a post that our friend Gil had put up on facebook.
I guess the carousel isn’t super well known yet because as the bus stopped at Battery Park I asked the driver, “is that the SeaGlass Carousel?” and his response was “huh?”
But I recognized it from the photos and we hopped off the bus. It was sensational! It cost $16 million and took almost 10 years to build.
A giant glass carousel made of sea creatures, whose idea was that? First i had to run over to the fence at the bottom of Battery Park and take this photo of mom with the setting sun and the Statue of Liberty in the background.
and then, back to the carousel. Mom said, “i don’t wanna ride on that,” but i said,” sure you do!” It’s funny that it cost 16 million dollars to build but only 5 bucks to ride.
There was no line at all; it was a bit windy and cold and i guess not the optimal time to visit, because like i said i don’t think it’s so well-known.
The fish all change color, and on the website it shows that they’re all different kinds of fish which i didn’t notice.
Mom had to clamber up and hoist herself up onto her fish, but she managed it. go, mom!
It was cool to see the park outside while there was still light.
But also beautiful to look in after it got dark.
Here’s a short video I took of the carousel in motion.
A little bit of info about it from the website – i didn’t know there was an aquarium there long ago. Hmm, i know that conditions for animals in zoos long ago wasn’t so great. I hope it was any better for the fish.
The SeaGlass story began early this century, when The Battery Conservancy was designing the park’s interior. The southern end of the park needed more light. The design team came up with the idea of an aquatic carousel to conjure The Battery’s history as the first home of the New York Aquarium.
The New York Aquarium, located in what is now Castle Clinton, was one of the nation’s earliest public aquariums, opening in 1896. This aquarium welcomed 2.5 million visitors annually until it closed in 1941.
So thats why it’s a fish carousel! Smart. It was a super-fun little outing, and if you visit New York you should definitely check it out.
ok then,
mrs. it’s soon to be the new year hughes.