page_title: Flying Horses Carousel
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Flying Horses Carousel / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Flying Horses This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 79000342
context_page_description: The Flying Horses Carousel is the oldest operating platform carousel in America. Located in the historic resort community of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard, the carousel was apparently first located in New York City before being moved to the island in the 1880s.
  The carousel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The carousel is one of only a handful of carousels that still have brass rings for a rider to attempt to grab as the carousel rotates.
context_section_description: The carousel is sited on a roughly triangular piece of land at the base of Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs that is bounded by Circuit Avenue, Oak Bluffs Avenue, Lake Avenue and Kennebec Avenue. Its address is 33 Oak Bluffs Avenue. Since being moved to the island, it has been housed in a somewhat utilitarian single-story building. It is sheathed in wood shingles, and has a low gable roof.
  The carousel is about 36 feet (11 m) in diameter. Fourteen spreader panels radiate from the central platform, and are secured to the upper canopy by the columns that also support the horses and carriages of the carousel. Despite the name "Flying Horses" (given by Joseph Turnell), the horses are stationary when the carousel is rotating. The horses have their original oxide eyes, but their original horsehair manes have been lost.
  The layout of the horses and carriages is as follows: a chariot, two pair of horses, a chariot, three pairs of horses, and then the entire sequence repeated. The panels that decorate the carousel, including those surrounding the central column housing the carousel machinery, depict equestrian and marine scenes. By the 1980s, these panels, needing restoration, had been removed and replaced by panels of local scenes done by a local artist. When the site was purchased by the Martha's Vineyard Land Trust, the Flying Horses underwent an extensive restoration, returning the carousel to its original appearance, complete with the historic panel paintings that were done by a Dare Company artist.
  Although originally powered by steam, the carousel was converted to electricity in 1900, and is powered by a 10-horsepower motor located in the building's basement. The gears and belts connecting the motor to the carousel were rehabilitated in the 1980s. The ride has a traditional ring assembly, where the lucky rider who successfully grabs a brass ring gets a free ride.
  The carousel’s music is provided by a 1923 Wurlitzer #103 Band Organ.
caption: A rider of the carousel reaches for the brass ring.
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