Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum

The factory where Allan Herschell built carousel horses for half a century is now a working museum: you can ride a fully restored 1916 #1 Special carousel, watch the carving shop in action, and walk through workshops where the chisels, paint kits, and original templates still hang on the walls. A separate gallery covers the mechanical music history of North Tonawanda — the city was also home to Wurlitzer jukeboxes and theatre organs.

A second floor contains a hands-on kids' gallery and a miniature North Tonawanda made of toy buildings and a running model carousel. The museum is open from April through December and is the single best thing to do in town.

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A story
Allan Herschell's factory turned out an estimated 3,000 carousels between 1916 and the early 1950s — more than any other maker in the world. The wooden horses were carved at North Tonawanda and shipped on the railroad in pieces; some still ride at Coney Island, Hershey Park, and several hundred lesser parks across North America.