The Associated Press reported that momentum is building for the Tennessee Fox Trot Carousel to ride again after more than two decades in storage. The whimsical carousel, created by New York-based artist Red Grooms, delighted Nashvillians for a few years at the turn of the century before it was disassembled and given to the Tennessee State Museum.
Grooms called the work a “sculpto-pictorama.” The carousel’s 36 figures were not traditional horses but characters tied to Tennessee history and culture. One figure depicted legendary country musician Chet Atkins riding the neck of a guitar. Another showed Davy Crockett wrestling a bear. One of the most unusual rideable figures was a chigger — a tiny summer mite that latches onto ankles and causes an intense itch, a familiar nuisance to anyone who has spent time in Tennessee grass.
The carousel was installed on Nashville’s riverfront at the edge of downtown at a time when the area was still growing. According to the AP, it “was perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time” — the neighborhood was up-and-coming but had not yet become the major tourist destination it is today. When it could no longer support itself financially, the carousel was disassembled and transferred to the Tennessee State Museum, which placed it in a storage facility.
Tennessee State Museum Executive Director Ashley Howell said the question she hears most often from visitors is: “What about the Red Grooms carousel?” Howell told the AP that the museum is now considering how to bring the carousel back to life.