Triangle carousels: Northgate Mall

Assuming that some of you are missing the carousel at Pullen Park, we've been featuring carousels across the Triangle for the last three weeks. Northgate Mall's carousel is the last in the series.

At the time, carousels in malls were all the rage. And Virgina Rand Bowman, whose father built the mall and is now its operator, saw them on display at a major shopping center convention and fell in love with it, says Paula Harris, the mall's marketing director.

"It made us a Durham landmark," Harris tells me.

The carousel has changed a bit over time. For instance, a dragon and deer were added to the mix of animals in the 1990s.

And the mall has added more amusements for kids over the years, including a bounce house, a kiddie train, and a power jump. The train has had a permanent place at the mall for the past three years. (And the owner, Kyle Jarman, wants me to let other malls out there know he has another one if they're interested.)

Tickets to ride the carousel are $2 a piece. The bounce house is $3 for 10 minutes. And the kiddie train is $3 a ride. There are deals if you ride or jump multiple times.

Check out the train and carousel in this video.