From 1999 until December 2017, the Allan Herschell 3-Abreast Carousel turned on this spot in Chase Palm Park. Built in 1916 by the Allan Herschell Company, this was no ordinary ride: it held 35 hand-carved jumping wooden horses and two hand-carved chariots that served as benches. It is one of only four large carousels the company made between 1915 and 1927, and the horses on the outer rim are notable for their gentle faces and detailed, deep woodwork — a real rarity among Herschell designs.
The carousel was owned by the Perron family and, after likely running in an amusement park in the eastern United States, it moved to Seaport Village in San Diego in 1977. It was restored in 1997 and began operating here in Chase Palm Park in 1999. Recognized for its significance, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
The company broke its lease due to winter revenues in 2017; the facility closed after a weekend carnival in early December 2017 with free rides for everyone, and the carousel itself was later relocated to a museum of historically significant carousels in Hood River, Oregon, scheduled to open in 2019. Look here at the very spot where those painted horses once rose and fell.