No Rides on the Public Museum Carousel After Next Tuesday!

The classic Spillman Carousel at the Grand Rapids Public Museum is closing - again. Next Tuesday, January 9, 2024, will be the last day to take a ride. Ouch, that hurts. It's such a gem of the museum and total fun for kids and the whole family. What's up?

The museum said in a news release yesterday that the entire Cook Carousel Pavilion will get a major facelift, part of a project that began last fall and will continue throughout the rest of 2024. The plan is to create more outdoor areas around the museum along the Grand River.

The museum said the upgrades will be made to the Pavilion structure to detach it from the Museum’s main facility to allow for accessible trail connection along the riverfront. The addition of ramps will create universal access around and into the Carousel for viewing opportunities of the Grand River.

The carousel’s walkway roof will become accessible from the inside of the Museum, allowing for a new outdoor viewing experience of the Grand River and Spillman Carousel from a second story.

Remember, it was just two years ago that the carousel reopened after a two-year closure for a major upgrade and restoration of the nearly 100-year-old carousel, having been built in 1928. By the way, there were only three ever built.

This time, not only will they finish the restoration of the carousel, but complete the building upgrades as well. For one thing, they will be adding two more elevators, a big help, and several of the Museum’s core exhibition spaces will be refreshed and reimagined.

The good news here is that the carousel should reopen hopefully in the Spring of 2025.

All of this work comes with a $50 million price tag but is well worth the investment for the museum to continue to be one of Grand Rapids and West Michigan's key destinations.