Pullen Park Carousel
520 Ashe Ave, Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC
A hand-carved menagerie carousel of leaping cats, ostriches, and pigs that has spun for a century in North Carolina's oldest public park.
The carousel at Pullen Park is one of the finest antique menagerie carousels still operating in the country, hand carved around 1900 by the Gustav Dentzel company of Philadelphia, the most famous carousel maker in American history. Instead of only horses, its platform carries a whole menagerie of animals, leaping cats and rabbits, an ostrich, a giraffe, a lion and tiger, and a beloved pair of pigs, each one carved and painted by hand.
It has spun in Raleigh's Pullen Park for well over a century, and generations of North Carolinians grew up riding it. The park itself is the oldest public park in the state and among the oldest in the nation, which makes a ride here a small journey into the way American families have played for more than a hundred years.
What Guests Love
- Riding a hand-carved wooden animal on a carousel more than a century old
- The full menagerie of creatures, from horses to leaping cats, ostriches, giraffes, and a pair of pigs
- The original band organ and the painted scenery panels overhead
- A whole park of gentle rides, a train, paddle boats, and picnic lawns around it
Worth Knowing
- The carousel is a National Historic Landmark, so it is cherished and cared for as a working antique
- Rides use tickets or tokens, and the carousel, train, and boats run on a seasonal schedule that shifts with the weather
- The park is beside NC State, so parking and paths get busy on warm weekends
- It is a gentle, all-ages ride, ideal for young children and grandparents alike
Details
Raleigh, NC
Learn about Pullen Park Carousel
A century of turning
The carousel was built by the G. A. Dentzel company around 1900, at the height of what collectors call the golden age of the American carousel. Dentzel carvers were renowned for their lifelike, expressive animals, and this machine is one of only a few surviving Dentzel menagerie carousels still giving rides on its original park site. It came to Pullen Park in 1921 and has been running there ever since.
In 1976 the carousel and the park's other classic rides were recognized for their historic value, and the carousel was later named a National Historic Landmark, a rare honor for an amusement ride. The animals have been lovingly restored over the years, their paint refreshed and their mechanisms rebuilt, but they remain the same hand-carved figures that delighted children a hundred years ago.
The animals and the machine
What sets a menagerie carousel apart is the variety. Alongside the galloping horses you can climb aboard a great cat mid-leap, an ostrich, a giraffe, a rabbit, a lion, a tiger, or the two pigs that generations of Raleigh children have claimed as their favorites. Each figure was carved from basswood and poplar, then painted and jeweled by hand, and no two are quite alike.
Overhead, the carousel keeps its original decorative crown and painted scenery panels, and its music still comes from a band organ, the mechanical instrument that gives an old carousel its unmistakable wheezing, cheerful sound. Riding it, you are inside a complete piece of turn-of-the-century craftsmanship, machine and music and menagerie together.
Pullen Park and the man behind it
The park owes its existence to Richard Stanhope Pullen, a Raleigh businessman and landowner who in 1887 donated the land both for this park and for the college that became North Carolina State University next door. When it opened, it became the first public park in North Carolina and one of the earliest in the United States, a gift meant to give ordinary city families a green place to gather.
The land here, like all of the Piedmont, was long the home of Native peoples, among them communities related to the Tuscarora and other tribes who lived and traveled across central North Carolina before European settlement. Today the park remains a working city park, its carousel one attraction among ballfields, gardens, an aquatic center, and shaded lawns.
The rest of the park
The carousel anchors a small, old-fashioned amusement area that also includes a miniature train that loops through the trees, pedal boats on the park lake, and a kiddie boat ride, all at gentle, family scale. Around them spread playgrounds, picnic shelters, and walking paths shaded by big hardwoods, with the arts center and community buildings nearby.
Spring and fall are the loveliest times to visit, when the weather is mild and the trees leaf out or turn color. Summer brings the crowds and the full run of rides, while winter is quiet, with the carousel keeping a lighter schedule. Its position right beside the NC State campus makes it an easy stop on a day exploring Raleigh.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Raleigh
North Carolina State University
Adjacent
The state's largest university, whose brickyard, bell tower, and campus life spill right up to the edge of the park.
Downtown Raleigh
About 2 miles, a 10 minute drive
The capital's walkable center, with the State Capitol, the state museums of history and natural sciences, and a lively food and music scene.
North Carolina Museum of Art
About 5 miles, a 15 minute drive
An art museum set in a large outdoor park of trails and monumental sculpture on the west side of Raleigh.
Pullen Aquatic Center and gardens
Within the park
An indoor pool and a small rose garden and arts center that round out a day in the park.