The Battery's SeaGlass Carousel is a carousel for the 21st century; and after nearly a decade in development at a cost of $16 million, that is, at the very least, to be expected. As the final touches are put on for its Thursday opening, the Times took a trip to the "underwater garden" where "giant fish that shimmer with electric bioluminescence...dart and pause, skim and school within a nautilus shell of stainless steel and glass." The carousel's 30 fiberglass fishwhich were made by George Tsypin Opera Factory and include fish with names as dreamy as the ride: angelfish, butterflyfish, Siamese fighting fish, yellow lionfish, and triggerfishrotate over four different turntables. Like with traditional carousels, 18 of the fish will yaw. The ride is scored by adaptations of classics: Mozart's 40th Symphony and Prokofiev's "Dance of the Knights" from Romeo and Juliette.
[Video via The Battery Convservancy.]
The ride was developed by the Battery Conservancy in the wake of September 11. The Times elaborates, "At a time when smart people feared that Lower Manhattan was doomed, expressions of optimism and joy were welcome. A carousel, especially one honoring the Battery's maritime history, seemed intriguing, if unlikely." The carousel opens to the public on August 20th and will be running between 1 p.m. and midnight. After Thursday, it will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
· New York's New Carousel Puts You in a Whirling School of Mechanized Fish [NYT]
· SeaGlass Carousel at the Battery [The Battery]
· Long-Delayed Battery Park Carousel Will Finally Open In August [Curbed]
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