Back around: Columbian Park’s carousel
After years of waiting on the return of the carousel, reviews of the first rides Friday: ‘Glorious.’ Plus, a few other things.
The new Columbian Park carousel cranked up for public rides for the first time Friday morning, returning a feature last seen in Lafayette’s central park more than a quarter-century ago.
“Just a glorious ride on a – look out there – glorious day,” Sandra Dale, a Lafayette resident who bought three grandchildren for rides after Friday’s ribbon-cutting, said. “It’s so nice to have this back.”
Crowds lined up at the carousel building, finished several years ago, to ride one of the 30 Plexiglas animals on a 38-foot diameter carousel that had been through a series of fits and starts dating back nearly a decade.
“This is such a very special day that we have been working on and that I know, from being born and raised here in this community, means so much to generations of people before us and the ones going forward,” Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said. “For many residents, the carousel has always been a special place in their memories of Columbian Park. … What excites me the most is knowing that this new carousel will help create new generations of memories.”
The last carousel was removed in 1998 as part of a Columbian Park renovation that included the addition of the Tropicanoe Cove aquatics center nearby.
A new park master plan that included the eventual renovations at Memorial Island and rebuild of Loeb Stadium had a carousel returning near its original spot – between entrances to Columbian Park Zoo and Tropicanoe Cove, just past the stadium wall in right-centerfield – in 2020.
That timetable was delayed twice, as companies brought in to do the work – including initial plans for carved, wooden carousel animals – weren’t able to deliver. The one delivered in time for Friday’s dedication was designed by San Franciso-based Barrango Carousels, featuring figures of a tiger, elephant, gorilla, snow leopard, giraffe and other more exotic animals beyond horses, along with two ADA chariot-style benches for riders.
The cost was roughly $780,000.
Claudine Laufman, Lafayette parks superintendent, said there’d been a steady drumbeat to bring back a carousel, nearly to when the original one was removed. The late Vic Klinker, a Lafayette Parks Board member for 39 years, was particularly persistent. “He asked about it all the time,” Laufman said. (State Rep. Sheila Klinker, Vic Klinker’s wife, was at the dedication and rode an elephant in one of the carousel’s first go-rounds Friday morning.)
Laufman said she received a cold call in 2019 from David Stevenson, a Lafayette business owner, who offered to donate the money needed for the carousel after reading about how it was part of Columbian Park’s renovation ideas. A plaque honoring David and Connie Stevenson’s contribution is on one of the carousel building walls.
Diane Stevenson Gorman, a daughter of the Stevensons, said her family would attend reunions in other Indiana communities that included trips to a carousel.
“Riding a carousel was always a cherished tradition,” Gorman said. “Those joyful memories inspired us to share our love of carousels and bless Columbian Park with one of its own.”
Laufman said the brick carousel house, built in 2022 for roughly $1.7 million, was designed with glass overhead doors for airflow on nice days and architecture that would blend in with the zoo and other Columbian Park attractions.
Laufman said the carousel was designed in the style of those made by the Dentzel Carousel Co. before the end of the 1920s, in particular one in Glen Echo Park in Montgomery County, Maryland. The carousel has nods to Lafayette history, including fleur-de-lis and stars painted on some of the ride’s animals.
“Things that tie it to Lafayette and the ‘Star City,’” Laufman said. “Those are slight details that make it unique to us.”
After a ride Friday, Gorman said her late mother, an artist, would have appreciated the color and feel for how it came together.
“My mom would have loved all that detail,” Gorman said. “She would have loved it all.”
If you go: Rides on the new carousel will be free until 7 p.m. Friday, June 19. After that, they will cost $3, available from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. during the park’s peak season.
THIS AND THAT …
THOSE BATTLE GROUND DETOURS: Forgive the folks in Battle Ground if they’re feeling a bit more hemmed in than usual.
Pretty Prairie Road, northeast of Battle Ground, will be closed Monday, June 22, between Tyler Road and Grant Road, as the county begins work to decommission the Pretty Prairie dam, according to the county highway department. The Pretty Prairie dam is one of two the county targeted in 2022 for a local share of federal American Rescue Plan Act money. The other was Marsh Lake Dam along County Road 900 East. The project is expected to last until Oct. 20.
A couple of other projects are factoring into routes to and from Battle Ground:
The bridge over the Wabash River, on North Ninth Street road near Davis Ferry, is in the midst of a series of closures. The first one, started at the beginning of June, was to allow crews to build a platform under the structure to do utility relocation. The second closure is scheduled to start in early September, according to the county highway department, and last until June 5, 2027. Work will include demolition and reconstruction of the bridge.
The one-lane Indiana 225 bridge, east of Battle Ground, remains closed. Work started this spring on the 664-foot bridge built in 1912 after it had been closed for structural issues in 2022. The Indiana Department of Transportation said earlier this year that the bridge is expected to be ready to reopen by the end of 2027.
Make note if you’re heading to next weekend’s Indiana Fiddlers’ Gathering at the Tippecanoe Battlefield in Battle Ground
Speaking of which, for more details about the Fiddlers’ Gathering – along with other stuff coming up, including Saturday’s Taste of Tippecanoe in downtown Lafayette – check out this replay of Tim’s Picks.
A PIECE OF LBC: We’re over here debating over lots of branded glassware and assorted artifacts from the walls of Lafayette Brewing Co., now available in an online auction running through the next week. LBC closed Dec. 20 after more than three decades at 622 Main St. Not sure we’re ready to haul one of those second-floor pool tables down to ground level, but if you are … they’re ready for you. Bidding on memorabilia continues through 6 p.m. June 26, with bids on restaurant equipment running into noon June 27.
» While we’re on the subject of craft beer, the 14th annual Beers Across the Wabash – rebranded this year as Beers & More Along the Wabash, what with the John T. Myers Pedestrian Bridge expected to be closed to major events during renovations later this summer – is looking for volunteers for the Aug. 29 festival at Riehle Plaza in downtown Lafayette. To sign up, go to: https://forms.gle/AyiVuFHoPpGBYrq4A. For more about the event and for tickets, check: https://app.promotix.com/events/details/Beers-and-More-Along-the-Wabash-2026-tickets. Proceeds go to Food Finders Food Bank.
STILL IN PLAY: EXTEND YOUR BASED IN LAFAYETTE SUBSCRIPTION BY CHIPPING FOR CASAs FOR KIDS FUND
The 2026 edition of the Subaru CASA Cycling Challenge, a 24-hour event held Aug. 8-9 at the two-mile Subaru of Indiana Automotive test track in Lafayette, will again have a version of Bangert Brothers team there to put in some laps in support to the CASAs for Kids Fund here in Tippecanoe County. Trust us, we’re still getting organized, but we’ll be there.
The CASAs for Kids Fund is set up for abused or neglected kids who wind up in the court system and in foster care, offering funding for clothing, bedding, school band instruments, field trip or summer camp fees, dance class, equipment to join sports teams and other things the system can’t provide. The CASAs for Kids Fund gets them that stuff and gets them that much closer to a normal life as a kid. And fundraising tied to the 24-hour ride gets the CASAs for Kids Fund geared up for the next year.
Just like last year, I’ll add a free month to your full-access Based in Lafayette subscription for a donation of any amount to the Bangert Brothers team or team members.
In 2025, Based in Lafayette readers kicked in more than $5,400 to CASAs for Kids Fund, via the Bangert Brothers team.
If you’re game for the 2026 version, here’s the link.
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