- February 12, 2026
- Darren Tobia
There are many rides at the Seaside Heights boardwalk but the Floyd L. Moreland Carousel is also a work of art.
“Everyone who comes to see the carousel is happy,” said Joe Verderosa, president of the Seaside Heights Historical Society. “It’s just a joyful place.”
The carousel has 58 rideable animals including horses, donkeys, and lions. The ride is now ADA-accessible for the first time. Image courtesy of Darren Tobia.
The sense of joy that surrounds the carousel has been heightened lately after it became the newest landmark to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places after a vote from the State Review Board in November. This is the culmination of a decadelong fight to save it.
In 2014, Casino Pier — which owned an arcade along the boardwalk that housed the carousel — planned to auction off this landmark. But local residents rallied and the local government stepped in to acquire it.
Around that time, Seaside Heights had experienced “back-to-back punches,” Verderosa said. Not only did the boardwalk get ravaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but the next year, one of the piers caught fire, destroying one of the two carousels at the boardwalk.
“There were a lot of people who appreciated the importance of this carousel to our history and they were successful in convincing the Borough Council to acquire it,” said Christopher Vaz, Seaside Heights business administrator. “It’s more than just a merry-go-round.”
The only problem with the carousel is that it badly needed repairs — and not everyone has the expertise to fix a broken one. It was historian Barbara Fahs Charles, author of the State Register listing, who recommended that the carousel be shipped in pieces to the nation’s pre-eminent repairer Todd Goings, who runs a shop called Carousels & Carvings in Marion, Ohio.
The beauty of the carousel is striking following a $2.5 million restoration completed in 2023. It is now housed inside the Carousel Pavilion at the north end of the boardwalk and the centerpiece of a local history museum that opened last year. The walls of the pavilion are lined with vintage postcards, photos, and newspaper articles of the boardwalk.
“I met my wife at this arcade,” Verderosa said, pointing to one of the postcards. “That’s where I worked in high school.”
The process of nominating the carousel for the National Register dug up interesting details about its history. The carousel was installed at the boardwalk in 1935, according to Charles. This was a time when the last makers of these types of machines had closed up shop. It was assembled with the parts of other carousels. One enduring mystery is that no one knows exactly who assembled it.
The inner paintings and the core mechanism came from W. F. Mangels Carousel Works in Coney Island. The 58 rideable animals — horses, donkeys, lions — were the work of various builders, including G.A. Dentzel Company and E. Joy Morris, both of whom had factories in Philadelphia. The carousel wouldn’t be complete without the Wurlitzer organ, which originally operated with a paper piano roll.
“Philadelphia and Coney Island are the two premiere places that carousels were being made in the United States,” said Charles, who cofounded the National Carousel Association in 1973.
Left, Joe Verderosa, president of the Seaside Height Historical Society, and Christopher Vaz, Seaside Heights business administrator. Image courtesy of Darren Tobia.
Until the 1970s, a visitor could find a vintage carousel at almost any shore town in New Jersey. The National Carousel Association keeps a census of all the carousels across the nation and Charles estimates having lost about half of all carousels since the census was first published in 1974. Sadly, New Jersey has seen one of the highest rates of loss. Unwanted carousels are dismantled and sold for their parts. Nowadays, there are only four left in the entire state and one of them in Ocean City is endangered, Charles said.
The staggering loss of these beautiful, intricate machines underscores the importance of saving the Floyd Moreland Carousel, which is named after the inaugural president of the Seaside Heights Historical Society who was instrumental in saving it.
“Fortunately, Dr. Moreland was here to enjoy the grand opening last year,” Vaz said. “I just wish he was still here to enjoy it a little more.”
