☰Bushnell Park

Bushnell Park, laid out in the 1850s and co-designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, was the first publicly funded municipal park in the United States. It wraps around the State Capitol and provides a green heart for downtown Hartford. The park's centerpiece is a 1914 Stein & Goldstein carousel, one of the finest surviving antique carousels in the country, with 48 hand-carved horses and a Wurlitzer band organ that plays as you ride. The carousel operates on weekends from spring through autumn. The park also contains a Spanish-American War memorial arch, a pond, and mature trees planted in the 19th century.