Grab The Reins: Smithsonian Carousel Reopens On National Mall

After three years of restoration work, the Smithsonian carousel is once again spinning.

By Michelle Witte, Patch Staff

Apr 27, 2026 11:26 am EDT

The Carousel on the Mall in Washington, sits empty, Monday, April 20, 2020, as Smithsonian Museums and entertainment facilities on the National Mall are closed on the normally busy season of the year, due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON, DC – The painted ponies are running again: After a three-year restoration, the Smithsonian’s carousel has reopened on the National Mall.

The first carousel was installed on the mall in 1967, according to the Smithsonian. By the 1980s, however, the original carousel, built in 1922, had begun to deteriorate, and the institution began looking for a replacement.

They found one in the hand-carved, 1947 carousel from Baltimore’s Gwynn Oak Amusement Park. The beauty had been stuck in storage after its original park closed down. For the past four decades, its horses, chariots, sea monsters and pigs have entertained kids and adults on the mall around which so many Smithsonian museums stand. Now, after three years of renovation and a new paint job, the carousel is back on duty.