Behind the scenes of Grand Rapids Public Museum's carousel animal renovation

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Britteny Young sponges paint onto the wooden horse taken off of the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s iconic carousel.

It’s a technique that will give the carousel animal a more textured, realistic look over the paint jobs the animals have had for nearly the last three decades.

Young is a painter at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and part of the museum’s undertaking to repaint and, if needed, repair all 44 hand-carved horses and six menagerie animals on its 1928 Spillman Carousel.

Not including any needed repairs, the whole process of stripping, sanding, priming and hand-painting each animal takes an average of 300 hours. The hours of work vary by the animal’s size as well as the amount of detail.

Given all the animals on the carousel, the project will take at least two to three years, said Stevie Hornyak, the museum’s exhibit coordinator specialist.

The undertaking will make the animals look more realistic, give them more character and individual personality and will also allow museum staff to more easily conduct touch-ups on the animals should they get dinged up, Hornyak said.

“Each animal will have its own personality,” said Hornyak. “A lot of kids like to pick out their favorite one. I even saw today some crying because some other kid got another kid’s horse. It’s very personalized, and so we thought, ‘This will be great. Everybody can feel like they got their own horse.’”

The repainting of the saddle, trappings, bridle and more will stay true to the original 1994 color palette, while the horses themselves will be modeled after American horses and textured with sponging and multiple glazes that will enhance the carvings underneath, Hornyak said.

The carousel was built in 1928 and installed in the museum at 272 Pearl St. NW in 1994. It’s situated in the museum’s pavilion overlooking the Grand River and has long been a part of the museum’s identity.

After closing for nearly two years for mechanical and electrical upgrades and repairs that were partially delayed due to the pandemic, the carousel reopened to the public on May 25.

Related: Iconic carousel overlooking the Grand River reopening after 2-year closure

So far, patrons can enjoy five of the newly-painted animals -- a deer, a giraffe and three horses -- that have been completed and placed back onto the carousel.

Patrons may notice some shinier, fiberglass animals on the carousel. Those are loaner animals the museum has received to keep the carousel balanced while it restores the original animals piecemeal.

Some animals that require extensive repair are being sent to Carousel and Carvings in Ohio.

Since they were restored and placed in the museum in 1994, the animals prior to the renovation have been coated in an automotive paint that was sprayed on. Because of the paint, it wasn’t feasible to do needed touch-ups while the animals were still attached to the carousel.

“The car paint is extremely stinky,” Hornyak said. “We had to bring it all the way up here to spray it. It could be off the carousel for weeks at a time.”

Now, with the different technique and shift to water-based paints, museum staff can touch-up the newly painted animals while they’re attached to the carousel, reducing downtime and labor hours.

With the mechanical and electrical upgrades completed over the pandemic, returning patrons will also notice new bilingual signage and lights indicating when the ride is about to begin and end.

The lights can be used instead of a noise indicating the beginning and ending of the ride, accommodating to people with sensory issues. Ride staff also can play digital music during the ride which can be turned to a lower volume or off entirely.

The museum is also making one of the two chariots on the carousel wheelchair accessible. The carousel will also feature a wheelchair accessible ramp.

Museum staff weren’t able to provide an estimate of the cost of the animal repainting project nor the mechanical and electrical upgrades but encouraged people to donate. People can find out more about donating at grpm.org/donate/. People can also find out more at grpm.org/1928-spillman-carousel/.

They said the improvements couldn’t have been undertaken without donations from the Peter C. and Emajean Cook Foundation and community members. The Cook Foundation is matching all funds donated by community members.

For every $1 donated on donations up to $300,000, the Cook Foundation will contribute $2 toward the renovation costs.

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