Cafesjian's Carousel
Posted by: 
KC0GRN
N 44° 58.844 W 093° 09.153
15T E 487972 N 4980821
A Historic Carousel, located in Como Park near the Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Waymark Code: WMQEQ
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 09/15/2006
Views: 58
Originally, this Carousel was built for a private investor to be used at the Minnesota State Fair in 1914. It stayed in operation during the Fair for 74 years until in 1988 it was taken down and sold at auction.
Amazingly, most locals had thought it was a permanent part of the State Fair, and were surprised to hear the news of it being auctioned. So a local group formed to raise the funds needed to buy the Carousel back from auction to ensure it stayed in the area. After a successful campaign, they purchased the entire Carousel for a little over a million dollars. It was then run for one final year at the State Fair in 1989 (with more than 108,000 riders), marking it's 75th year there. Then the Carousel was located in Town Square, a retail area in Downtown St. Paul, until 1993, when the area lost a lot of retail business. A Permanent Location was chosen at Como Park near the Zoo and Conservatory. A building was built to house the Carousel in that has doors (similar to garage doors) that can be opened or closed according to weather conditions.
The Carousel was named after the person that has donated over 1.2 million dollars into the purchase, restoration, and permanent placement of the Carousel at Como Park.
Carousel Location: Neighborhood Park
Is the Carousel operational?: Yes
Does the Music work?: Yes
Cost to ride:
$1.50 all ages (Please note there are free ride days, check the website for info on those).
Hours of Operation:
May-September
Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
September-October
Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
(Closed November-April)
Related Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a photo of your self at the location or a picture of your favorite animal on that carousel.
If you are lucky enough to take a ride on your visit, tell us what animal you rode.