8 Fun Facts About the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Spillman Carousel

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM)   welcomes more than 250,000 visitors every year for a wide variety of scientific, historical and cultural experiences that celebrate our human bond.

One of the most popular and enduring attractions at the Museum is a 1928 Spillman Carousel. It’s been running in the Cook Carousel Pavilion on the Grand River for more than 30 years, providing fun rides and a breathtaking view of the downtown Grand Rapids skyline.

The Museum recently undertook a $10.5 million expansion and renovation of the Carousel and Pavilion. The Pavilion itself has been detached from the main Museum to allow for accessible connection to a new riverfront trail and expanded outdoor Museum experiences. A second-story walkway now connects the main Museum building to a rooftop deck on the Pavilion, providing a bird’s-eye perspective of the goings-on below.

The renovated Carousel and Pavilion are scheduled to open in late fall 2025. Here are some fascinating facts behind the historic attraction:

1.) It was made in New York

The carousel was manufactured by Spillman Engineering of North Tonawanda, New York, in 1928, and it is incredibly rare.

The 1928 Spillman Carousel is one of only three special park carousels to have been produced in its particular style by Spillman Engineering.

It operated in Lakewood Park in Barnesville, Pennsylvania, from 1928 until 1981 when it was purchased for the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

2.) It wasn’t the museum's first choice

In the late 1970s, Grand Rapids city officials began planning for the construction of a new museum that would include an operational carousel.

The carousel search committee that formed in 1979 first selected the carousel that resided in Ramona Park, a popular amusement park in East Grand Rapids at the time. But the committee eventually learned that it had been dismantled and sold off when the park closed in 1954.

Then, the 1928 Spillman Carousel was discovered through a nationwide search in the spring of 1981. Museum officials traveled to Pennsylvania to visit with Frank Guinan, the carousel’s owner, and agreed that it was the perfect fit for Grand Rapids.

3.) A community campaign brought it to Grand Rapids

In 1981, the museum’s president, W.D. Frankforter, announced that the museum would buy the carousel, but a community-wide campaign was needed to raise funds for the purchase.

The goal: raise $175,000 by 1982.

Late Grand Rapids philanthropist Peter C. Cook accepted the challenge, led the efforts, and even funded the creation of the glass and cast stone pavilion where the carousel currently resides.

After a successful campaign, the carousel debuted in 1994, more than a decade after it was purchased, when the museum opened to the public under the name: Van Andel Museum Center.

4.) There are 50 animals to ride

The 1928 Spillman Carousel consists of 44 hand-carved wooden horses elaborately decorated with jewels (four “standers” and 40 “jumpers”).

Before the carousel debuted, carousel restorers John and Linda Layton of New Castle, Pennsylvania, spent approximately 300 hours on each animal to restore them all to their original color and design using enameled acrylic paints for durability and longevity.

Uniquely, horses are not the only animals that can be ridden on the carousel. In addition to two chariots, guests have the option to ride one of six menagerie animals, including a goat, a lion, a deer, a tiger, a camel, and a giraffe.

5.) The carousel’s music is played by a 1928 Wurlitzer band organ

The music of a 1928 Wurlitzer band organ offers an authentic touch while riders' smiles grow and legs dangle from carousel horses.

The 3,000-pound organ consists of two large spools lined with heavy paper punched with holes that tell the organ which notes to play. As one spool of music finishes and begins to rewind, the second spool begins rotating to create a continuous loop of music during each ride.

6.) 1,200 light bulbs light up the carousel canopy

Guests will never have trouble soaking in their surroundings while enjoying a ride on the 1928 Spillman Carousel. The carousel currently includes 1,200 individual light bulbs that light the way for the animated animals.

As part of ongoing efforts to make the GRPM as sustainable and environmentally conscious as possible, all of the carousel’s lights were replaced with energy efficient LED bulbs during an extensive renovation project from 2017-2022.

7.) It’s inclusive and accessible

The Museum prioritized accessibility in its Carousel renovation. For the first time in its near 100-year history, the Carousel can now be enjoyed by people using wheelchairs and other mobility devices, thanks to a new wheelchair-accessible ramp and an adjustable chariot seat. The Carousel is also now equipped with bilingual signage and instructional recordings, as well as additional communication features for those who are blind, low vision, deaf or hard of hearing. 

In addition, ramps inside and outside the Pavilion allow universal access into and around the Carousel, and alongside the Grand River. All of these enhancements exceed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, reflecting the Museum’s commitment to be as inclusive as possible. You can find more information about accessible features at the Museum (and other Grand Rapids attractions) at Wheel the World, which empowers people with disabilities to explore the world freely, safely and confidently.

8.) It’s just one part of a new and improved Museum experience

The Carousel and Pavilion enhancements are part of a $50 million Museum expansion, which also includes a reimagined outdoor experience featuring more exhibit space, event space, hands-on science stations, seating, dining, Grand River access and new educational opportunities along improved walkways and trails. The new outdoor features will open along with the Carousel and Pavilion in fall 2025.

Inside the Museum, two additional elevators accommodate the facility’s growing number of visitors and allow visitors to easily explore all three floors whatever their mobility needs. Several of the Museum’s core exhibits, including Anishinabek: The People of This Place, which explores the history and lives of the area’s original indigenous inhabitants, are being refreshed and reimagined.

Still to come is a new tower that will add a ground-floor café, more room for exhibitions and events, and space for a hands-on learning lab for students. A construction start date is yet to be announced, but the Museum and the Cook Carousel Pavilion will remain open during the second phase of enhancements.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum is open seven days a week for you ride the Carousel,

tour three floors of fascinating exhibits, see dazzling multisensory shows at the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium , browse an amazing gift store, relax and refuel in the Museum Café and experience a park-like outdoor greenspace.