It’s a Prospect Park tradition that dates back 70 years.

The Prospect Park Carousel has reopened for the 2022 season. The carousel, which has been in Prospect Park since 1952, is one of the few all-wooden carousels that remain in the U.S. 

Riding the carousel is a family tradition for Sara Krulwich and her 3-year-old granddaughter. Krulwich started bringing her to the ride last year. 

“This is something we really love," Krulwich said. "Audrey loves riding the carousel."

“I like to share many experiences with her, but looking at her face when she rides the carousel gives me a great deal of pleasure," she added.

Krulwich and her granddaughter were among the first of a group of parkgoers who could not wait to ride on opening day. Visitors can choose from a menagerie of 53 horses that ride with a lion, a giraffe and a reindeer. 

Everyone seems to have their favorite.

“I think it’s so cool, because it’s my favorite color," Ryan Garrett said while riding the black horse. An old Wurlitzer organ provides the carousel’s soundtrack. 

“It’s a happy, fun beat. If you’re having a bad day, you come to the carousel," the ride's manager, Margaret Ring, said. "We have brides that come here. It just makes their day. If someone is having a rough day, come to the carousel."

In the 1970s and 1980s, the carousel deteriorated and was eventually closed for many years. It reopened in 1990 after the Prospect Park Alliance restored it.

All these years later, it remains one of the park's most popular attractions. 

"It's nice. It’s old-fashioned," parent Rebekah Krolewicz said. "I remember riding on a carousel when I was a kid, so it’s nice to be able to bring my son to do that too."