SeaGlass Carousel Tops Out

SeaGlass Carousel is both a neighborhood landmark and a symbol of resilience and strength

Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park City has seen several major disasters in recent memory, a fact that was not lost on the presenters at Thursday’s topping-out ceremony of the area’s new SeaGlass carousel. “This community, you cannot bring us down,” said Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer, who spoke at the ceremony. “You can attack us, flood us… but we are about building and creating.”

The carousel, designed by New York firm WXY, will be the centerpiece of the newly redesigned Battery Park. Several speakers at the ceremony lauded it not just as a new neighborhood landmark and beautiful work of design, but as a symbol of the resilience and strength of a community that has endured both the 9/11 attacks and hurricane Sandy.

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Attendees admired the completed exterior. Inside, banners were placed to indicate the scale of the carousel seats. Though the carousel is not expected to open until later this year, the topping out marks the completion of the exterior structure, which now only awaits finishing touches and the assembly of the carousel inside. When fully completed, the nautilus-shaped structure will have an aquatic theme, hearkening back to the New York Aquarium that was originally located in the same area. Fiberglass sea-creatures will gently move and sway in the blue-space giving riders the feeling of swimming underwater. Adjacent to the carousel is also the future site of a Frank Gehry designed playground, and as progress continues, the two projects are set to bring the park an iconic pair of family-friendly and community oriented designs. At Thursday’s ceremony, despite the windy and overcast weather, the resilient spirit of this neighborhood was shining through.

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The interior of the nautilus-shaped structure.

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A rendering of the completed park and carousel. Courtesy WXY.

Brian Bruegge is an undergraduate student at Fordham University, majoring in communications and media studies, and history. He also studies visual arts and environmental policy, and has previously written for several other websites and publications on a range of topics.

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