Q. What is it supposed to be on the show? A. A carousel. Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show? A. According to Tara, it's "at the fairgrounds, near I-20, where Eric turned Willa". In real life, that would be the Louisiana State Fair, at 3701 Hudson Ave, in Shreveport, which is indeed right off Interstate 20. (But this isn't real life.) Q. When did we see it on the show? A. In the very disappointing series finale, Episode 10 of Season 7, "Thank You". It is, in fact, the show's very last (new) filming location. Earlier, Eric forced Sarah Newlin to drink Pam's blood, so that Pam could always find her - then he turned her loose. In this scene, Pam finds Sarah hiding in a carousel at the Fairgrounds, eating from garbage cans. Sarah says that she's a terrible person, and Pam agrees. Sarah then says that because of that, she'd make a kick-ass vampire, and asks Pam to turn her. When Pam says "absolutely not", Sarah offers to turn lesbian for her.  Pam isn't interested. Pam only wants Sarah's blood, because "I'm not vaccinated." She then bites Sarah. Q. What is it actually, in real life? A. A carousel, but nowhere near Louisiana.

The location: The Carousel

A. This is actually the Merry-Go-Round at Griffith Park, in the hills of Los Angeles.

You'll find it at 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, about a mile south of the L.A. Zoo.

It is open at 11 AM on Saturday & Sunday (weather permitting). During the Summer, and the Easter & Christmas holidays, it opens on weekdays.

Griffith Park is the largest urban park in the U.S., but most people only see a small part of it.  This merry-go-round is one of the more popular spots, and easy to reach, since it's near the park entrance, at the bottom of the park's hills, rather than up in the middle of them.

If you are driving into the park from the south, heading north on Crystal Springs Drive, you'll pass a park visitor center on your right.  Make a left (west) turn at the road just past that center.  Go about 250 yards on that road, then turn right into the merry-go-round's parking lot.  The merry-go-round is just north of the lot.

I believe this may actually be a carousel, rather than a merry-go-round.  As I understand it, the difference is that a carousel has only horses, while a merry-go-round has other animals.  Griffith Park's ride has only horses (unless you count one stationary chariot).

 "Built in 1926, and brought to Griffith Park in 1937, the Merry-Go-Round boasts 68 horses, finely carved with jewel-encrusted bridles, detailed draped blankets, and decorated with sunflowers and lion's heads. A Stinson 165 Military Band Organ, reputed to be the largest band organ accompanying a carousel on the West Coast, plays over 1500 selections of marches and waltz music."

This merry-go-round has an interesting history.  Most notable, perhaps, is that it was where Walt Disney first conceived of the idea of Disneyland.  According to the story, Walt was sitting on a bench, watching his young daughter have fun on the merry-go-round, when it occurred to him that there should be a place where both children and their parents could enjoy themselves together - a place like Disneyland.  (In fact, Walt's original bench is still there.)

It has also been the filming location of quite a few Hollywood movies and TV shows over the years.


Here are two photos of the Griffith Park carousel. courtesy of Richard Ellis and Carousels.org.






   Here's a Google StreetView of the road where you turn to go to the merry-go-round.

   Here is an aerial photo of the merry-go-round.  And here is a map link.

A.   I've been to the Griffith Park, and simply recognized it.  Fortunately, at the end of the scene, the camera pulls back and gives us a good, long look at it from a distance.