Inner Harbor Carousel To Shut Down
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- One of the original Inner Harbor attractions has been told to leave.
As Mike Schuh reports, the city has been in negotiations with the owner of the carousel for years.
On this cold windy day, at 106 years old, this grand lady of a carousel looks her age. But her age is what attracted Mikaela and Margaret to take her picture.
"The carousel is old," Mikaela Spalding said.
"I thought it was a kick in the teeth," said owner Richard Knight.
The city is terminating 31 years of lease renewals.
"No, it's not it. The people won't let my carousel go," Knight said.
Knight mortgaged his house to put this here.
The city has noted that the hours have decreased at the carousel and that ridership has gone from a one-time high of 100,000 to less than 10,000 per year.
But to tourists, the carousel is Baltimore, warts and all.
"We walked right past a bunch of things that just got built and walked to this because this is beautiful," Spalding said.
Beautiful or not, the city says this lot needs to be cleared by March 31 or they'll remove it.
"I don't believe that. I think they'll change their mind. I really do. I feel it in my heart and I know it's the right thing," Knight said.
A website and a Facebook page popped up Wednesday to try to get the city to change its mind. Click here for more information.
