My hometown of Baldwin, Long Island had the stroke of fortune to receive a homeless Brooklyn 1912 carousel. The carousel was made by the renowned carvers Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein for the Canarsie waterfront Golden City Park. When the Belt Parkway destroyed the park in 1939, amusement impresario William Nunley bought the carousel and had it moved to Sunrise Highway in Baldwin, rebuilt its pavilion, and opened a restaurant beside it. The park added rides, arcade games, and a mini golf course over the decades, with its beautiful Wurlitzer-playing carousel at its center whirling for years and years. By the time it closed in 1995, I imagine millions had ridden it.
I started a series of paintings of my favorite horses in their old Baldwin setting last year, which came to the attention of the Baldwin Civic Association, who asked if I would do a project for the town. After some discussion and collaboration with the MTA, it was agreed that I would produce a 7 by 5 foot mural of a carousel horse to be permanently installed at the Baldwin LIRR station. The painting is now finished and will be mounted later this spring.
The carousel was bought in 1995 by Nassau County as an historical artifact, and was eventually refurbished and moved to a new pavilion at the Cradle of Aviation Museum. I will have an opening event for the mural there, alongside my other carousel artworks, on March 9. It will serve as a fundraiser for the Baldwin Civic Association, so that they may sponsor other such projects to beautify the town. It’s a public event at which there will be free food and carousel rides, and donations to the Baldwin Civic Association are voluntary. https://www.baldwincivic.org/nunley-s-mural.html
All are encouraged to come and celebrate the mural, the carousel, and the memories of our beloved old park.
