11/14/2011 - Pullen Park Raleigh Grand Opening

Grand Opening Celebration
Join us on November 19th for the Grand Opening Celebration for your new Pullen Park!

November 19, 2011 10:00 am until 6:00 pm
Located at: 520 Ashe Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27606

Event Schedule
10:00 am Park & Amusement Rides Open
2:00 pm Pullen Park Dedication - Main Stage
3:00pm-6:00pm Entertainment and Musical Performances

Hours of Operation
After the Grand Opening Celebration, Pullen Park will be open daily from 10:00am - 6:00pm. Hours of operation are subject to change based upon the season.

Rental Information
Reservations will be accepted beginning November 1st.

All shelter reservations require a minimum 2-hour rental.
Electricity is available at select shelters.
After-hour shelter reservations are available within select areas.
Shelter rentals range in price from $12 to $25 per hour.
Pullen Park's Historic Carousel will be available to rent after park hours

Upcoming Special Events
Holiday Express: December 8-11, 2011 4:00pm until 9:00pm

Status

Construction Phase

History and Background

North Carolina's first public park, Pullen Park, was deeded to the City of Raleigh on March 22, 1887 by Richard Stanhope Pullen. Today Pullen Park's 66 acres provide amusement and picnic opportunities, art programs, and open space. The park embodies the ideals of the nineteenth century park movement.

A main attraction of Pullen Park is the Amusement Center. Adored by generations of Raleigh's citizens, Pullen Park is the fifth oldest operating amusement park in the United States and the sixteenth oldest in the world. The Amusement Center features a 1911 Dentzel Carousel, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Another feature operating in the center is the C.P. Huntington miniature train, a one-third size, near-replica of the famous locomotive of the same name.

A revised Master Plan for Pullen Park was adopted by City Council on October 21, 2001 based on recommendation from the Pullen Park Master Plan Committee. The committee laid out goals and priorities for the 66 acre park including specific goals for the Amusement Center. One specific goal was to provide a welcoming and exciting carousel house that is able to provide a longer period of use during the year.

In 2003, working from the Pullen Park and Chavis Park Master Plans, the Carousel Task Force Committee set out to create a thorough and well balanced report. The report, adopted in 2004, provides a framework for decisions regarding carousel restoration, maintenance, promotion, fundraising, operational programming, location, and potentially new development by the City of Raleigh and the Parks and Recreation Department.

With the carousel house as its centerpiece, the Raleigh City Council authorized the Design Development Phase to plan for improvements to the carousel, carousel house, and related park facilities in 2005. During the Design Development Phase a series of public meetings and presentations were held to gather citizen input. A Public Workshop for Pullen Park Playspace was held in November 2005 at the Pullen Arts Center and a formal Public Presentation was provided in March 2006 to review and collect comment on preliminary design drawings.

On March 17, 2009, the Raleigh City Council approved moving forward from the Design Development Phase to the Construction Document Phase for the Amusement Center Renovations. Resolute Building Company of Chapel Hill was awarded the construction contract by City Council on September 7, 2010. Construction began on October 11, 2010 and is expected to conclude late fall 2011. The adopted Pullen Park Master Plan and the Carousel Task Force Report have provided the background and guiding principles for the Design Development process and will continue into the Construction Document Phase.

On December 14, 2009, Pullen Park Amusement Center, including all of the amusement area features - Lake Howell, the paddle boats, the Andy & Opie statue, the carousel, the kiddie boats, the minature train, the concessions, the red caboose, and the playgrounds, was closed to the public Pullen Arts, the Aquatic Center and all of the features in North Pullen Park (north of the train tracks) remain open.

During construction please do visit Chavis Community Center and Park located just 2.1 miles east on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Note that the Chavis Carousel is closed for the season. It is currently undergoing renovations and will return to Chavis Park in a new Carousel House in the Fall of 2012.