By Nicole Zanchelli
Published October 26, 2026 at 3:09 PM
NEWARK - Residents have questioned for years whether the historic Military Park’s carousel would ever reopen. But after seven years of collecting dust and sitting motionless, the carousel is now up and running again until the end of this year.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky on Friday afternoon during the carousel’s reopening celebration, as kids and their families took turns on the 16-horse ride. Teens threw up peace signs to their parents filming them on the carousel and mothers held their young children steady on the horses.
A 360-photo booth and DJ topped off the long-awaited carousel reopening.
“Thank you to all the residents who called, who fussed and complained, and who showed up over and over again and said ‘why is the carousel not working,’” said Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “Today, we can answer them … we can say the carousel is in fact working, and you can bring your children here and get on it and have a great time.”
The City Parks Foundation will sponsor free carousel rides for the public from now until the end of 2026. It will operate with an attendant on duty Thursdays and Fridays from 3-8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 8 p.m.
“Today marks the return of a piece of Military Park’s identity and a celebration of Newark’s history and public spaces,” said City Parks Foundation Executive Director Marcy DePina. “The horses are ready, the music is returning, and it is time for the Military Park Carousel to ride again.”
Its 16 horses each pay tribute to a horse connected to Newark’s history. From its earliest planning, the carousel was intended to give children and families a way to encounter that history through art, play and storytelling, rather than to serve as only an amusement ride.
The $450,000 carousel was designed specifically for Newark’s historic Military Park. It was built by Carousels and Carvings of Marion, Ohio, with engineering provided pro bono by Thornton Tomasetti.
This attraction was paid for by an anonymous donation to the Military Park Partnership, which completed a $3 million redevelopment of the historic park in 2014.
The Military Park Partnership, which financed the park’s redesign and led maintenance of the park, included the city, Prudential Insurance, MCJ Amelior Foundation and the Theater Square Development Corporation.
City officials say the carousel was gifted to Newark by native and philanthropist Ray Chambers, who is the chairman of MCJ Amelior Foundation. The carousel was installed in the renovated Military Park in 2016. DePina’s staff at the City Parks Foundation was not sure of the carousel’s operating costs, but said it was $2 to ride.
But the carousel closed just three years later in 2019. DePina’s staff said it didn’t know why the city made that decision.
However, a Jersey Digs article from 2019 notes that Biederman Redevelopment Ventures – the developer behind the transformation of Military Park – concluded its involvement in Military Park, citing that “it was time to turn it over to local interest.”
The park fell into disrepair, with weeds overgrown in the sword-shaped structure in front of the Wars of America statue, and the park’s budget had been cut by $100,000, according to a 2024 Star-Ledger article.
DePina’s staff told TAPinto Newark that the Newark City Parks Foundation got the carousel up and running this year with “financial support from our sponsors.”
The City Parks Foundation is a public-private partnership created by Baraka and the Newark City Council in 2021 to manage, maintain, program and raise funds for the city’s Downtown Parks.
The plan was to open the carousel earlier in the summer, according to DePina’s staff, but due to funding for repairs, which delayed the permit and inspections process, it pushed the reopening back to October.
“We are happy to have the carousel open throughout the autumn and during the holidays in partnership with Newark Downtown for Holidays,” City Parks Foundation staff said.
Photo Credit: Nicole Zanchelli