Speaker Heastie and Assemblymember Conrad Announce $300,000 for Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum

Speaker Heastie and Assemblymember Conrad Announce $300,000 for Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum

Speaker Carl Heastie continued his annual statewide tour today with Assemblymember Bill Conrad, visiting the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, a museum and amusement park dedicated to preserving and teaching visitors the science and art of carousels. Together, they announced a total of $300,000 in funding for the museum.

"Every year I get to visit communities across our state and learn more about what makes New York so special," said Speaker Heastie. "The Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum is doing an incredible job teaching our young people and other visitors about the extraordinary history of carousels in New York, while preserving this same history for future generations."

"The Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum is a shining gem of North Tonawanda and I was honored to have Speaker Heastie join me today to visit their facilities," said Assemblymember Conrad. "For years, this museum has dedicated itself to preserving the history and constructions of carousels in our community and utilizing that history to teach important science lessons to visitors. I will continue to fight for the funding and support the team here needs to keep these important programs going for young people across our state."

Speaker Heastie and Assemblymember Conrad met with Executive Director Ian Seppala to visit the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, the former home of the Allan Herschell Co., a premier carrousel builder that shut down in 1959. The facility has since been transformed into a museum and amusement park showcasing the restoration process of carousels and providing hands-on STEM lessons. Together, Speaker Heastie and Assemblymember Conrad announced a total of $300,000 in funding -$250,000 to build out HVAC for the museum and $50,000 to support school trips to children across Western New York and expand the museum's free after-school programming into local libraries across the community.In 2021, Assemblymember Conrad secured $15,000 for the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum.