Boston.com Your Town reporter, Jeremy C. Fox, updates us on the status of a new carousel expected to be located on the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway in late 2012. The new carousel will be slightly closer to the North End than the current one, in a landscaped area between the Harbor Islands Pavilion and the Armenian Heritage Park.
“… the plan calls for shifting the location of the new carousel slightly north of where the temporary one now sits, allowing the broad promenade from the Faneuil Hall side of the park to continue between the carousel and the soon-to-open Harbor Islands Pavilion on the southern end of the lot.”
The new location is diagonally across the street from the Mercantile Building on the corner of Cross St. and Atlantic Ave. At an earlier meeting, there was a discussion to move the carousel south of the Rings Fountain to the Harbor Towers/Rowes Wharf Greenway area which is underutilized.
“Rather than having the prancing horses typical of most carousels, the permanent greenway carousel will have an array of animals native to the Boston area, with the selection heavily influenced by children from four local elementary schools.”
This includes whales, turtles, falcons and grasshoppers. (Consideration for the most common downtown Boston animal has apparently been dismissed.)
“Nancy Brennan, executive director of the conservancy, said a generous donor “who wanted to do something very special for Boston’s children” had given $1.6 million to support the carousel plan. With a cost projection of $2.9 million for the entire project, the conservancy still needs to raise more than $1 million more, and has begun fundraising efforts with foundations, corporations and individuals.”
The article does not mention if there will be a change in the current $3 price per ride on the carousel but mentions the ride price will cover its expenses and generate some funds for other Greenway programs.
The estimate to build the carousel appears to have increased dramatically to $2.9 million since initially announced last year when the price was estimated at $1 to $1.5 million. Your humble editor still wonders about the public benefit of a such an expensive new carousel versus other options such as restrooms, gardens, recreational space or covering the ramps). Read more in this post: Spinning The Greenway Carousel.
Only in Boston could a merry-go-round cost $3M.