The Perkasie Carousel has been refined and rebuilt after it began to fall apart in 1989 and then in 1994 when a snowstorm made the roof beam break.

This is a picture of the inside the recently repaired Perkasie Carousel.

Since the Perkasie Historical Society took over in 1970, routine operation and maintenance continued until a problem occurred on Community Day in 1981. A tooth broke off of the main drive pinion gear.To make it through the day the operators manually turned the carousel to position the missing tooth before each start up of the carousel. A new drive pinion gear was obtained from the manufacturer and replaced by volunteers.

In 1989 riders of the carousel began to feel a bucking sensation because of the increasing unevenness in the motion of the horses. Two broken projections on the center gear casting is what caused it. This gear is supposed to secure the gear to the center hub. Temporary repairs had held the broken pieces in place until a new gear would be inserted in the end of the season. The crew from Universal Millwright of Perkasie had to take out all of the horses and the decking in the carousel. They also had to prop up the 14 wooden sweep arms with timbers so that the top support bearing could be removed.

The next spring a bent crankshaft and gear were replaced. In 1996, horse pipe gave the confirming evidence that one horse had shifted out of its original position banging into the one next to it, jamming the mechanism, and damaging the gears and shaft.

When a snowstorm hit in 1994, a shoulder beam cracked and the building was named unfit for people to occupy. Temporary scaffolding was erected to support the roof and braces were placed on the outside of the bowed walls.

A plan was developed to save and renovate the carousel at a cost of about $300,000. Local schools and businesses helped raise money for the renovation by fund raisers and what not. Also they started a special program that let groups or individuals to pay $1000 to "purchase" a horse. They had to take apart the entire carousel except for the center pole, motor, and gearbox. carousel parts were stored across town.

• Concrete foundations were placed under each of the 20 support columns in the outer wall.
• Reinforcing steel channels were bolted along the tops of the walls.
• Walls were pulled back into alignment with jacks and winches.
• The roof was raised into position and supported on steel scaffolding. Four new custom designed wooden trusses were assembled and installed.
• Approximately 1/3 of the wooden floor was removed and replaced.
• The roof was over sheathed and reshingled.
• All interior and exterior wiring and electrical fixtures were replaced and overhead mercury lighting was added.
• A year round sprinkler system was added for fire protection and an alarm system was installed.
• A new kitchen and food service area was constructed with hot and cold running water.
• A heated utility room was constructed.
• Horses were repainted with unique designs.
• All other carousel components were cleaned and repainted in the original factory color scheme.
• 84 lighting fixtures were repainted and rewired.
• Horse pipes were replated and the platform support rods were cleaned and polished.
• The carousel was reassembled and tested.
• A new yellow and green canopy replaced the old rotted canvas top.
• They refinished the outside of the building with new vinyl siding, replaced the windows, and covering the columns in aluminum. The last thing that they installed was a full size entrance in the back of the building.

On May 11, 1996 the carousel made its debut. It began to follow its original schedule the following day - Mother's Day.

Jacking up the roof to prepare for pulling building structure back together.	Repairing the roof.
Note new metal reinforced wooden trusses for stability and strength.	Returning structural elements for the suspension system.
An empty carousel ready for additional structures, floor, and horses.	Replacing newly painted art deco style panels and lighting fixtures to the carousel.
The carousel's framework completed and ready for the horses.	Inserting the horses back onto the carousel.

Below are some examples of the repainted horses by local artists. Horses feature the original colors of the aluminum carousel horses, with new graphics painted on the horses. Left and center pictures feature insect patterns on a horse (including a dragonfly necklace) and the horse on the right features jingle bells and snowflakes.