A piece of Lancaster County history sits in a warehouse — waiting.

Waiting to spin 'round and 'round again. Waiting to bring laughter and joy to children and adults alike.

And waiting to, once again, be a source of entertainment and pride to the community, as it was decades ago.

Right now, waiting is the main activity when it comes to the Rocky Springs Carousel.

"We are definitely in limbo right now," James Corrigan, president of the Rocky Springs Carousel Association, said Tuesday. "We can't really do anything, make any plans or launch any kind of fundraising campaign, until we know where we're going to put it. That's the first thing we need to do, but right now all we can do is wait and see."

The vision has long been for the carousel, fading in local memory for more than 25 years now, to be restored and reassembled in an enclosure in Lancaster Square, where it would be part of a tourism and entertainment complex.

Corrigan said the association still feels the historic carousel would best serve the community at a downtown Lancaster location, but said the final decision rests with the city.

"Our objective has always been not just to have this thing up and running, but have it up and running in downtown Lancaster," Corrigan said. "We would love to be a part of the revitalization that's going on downtown, but at the same time we don't want to be in the way. We want to do what's best for downtown Lancaster. In our opinion, though, it's a perfect fit."

Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray said the city is exploring many options for the Lancaster Square site — some of which incorporate the carousel — but said it could be some time before a final decision is made.

"Unfortunately, it's been a slow process," Gray said Tuesday about development of the site. "Hopefully, as the convention center gets closer to being finished, things will start happening.

"Nonetheless, the carousel is a real treasure, and if it doesn't wind up there, then we've got to find another place for it," Gray said. "It would be a shame to lose that sort of history."

The carousel, created by German immigrant Gustave Dentzel, was the centerpiece of Rocky Springs Park in the early 1900s. The park, which sat along the Conestoga River just outside the southeast corner of the city, closed in 1967. It reopened in 1981 but soon closed again for good.

The carousel was purchased and relocated to a theme park in Michigan, then moved to the Dollywood theme park in Tennessee, where it remained for 10 years. In the late '90s, Rocky Springs Carousel Association formed, purchased the carousel for $1.5 million and brought it home to Lancaster.

Since 2005, 15 of the carousel's 48 original animals have been restored by Illinois firm Old Parr's Inc. and returned to Lancaster, Rocky Springs Carousel Association chairwoman Ruth Ecklin said Wednesday. The restorations were funded with a $30,000 grant from the American Carousel Society, along with donations from private benefactors, she said.

"And we just had another animal 'adopted' right around Christmas," Ecklin said. "We were thrilled because that hasn't happened for a while. It reaffirms that people are still interested."

Animals can be "adopted" for $4,000 to $50,000, which pays for partial or total restoration, Ecklin said. Sponsors get to pick the animal they want to adopt, which makes the process very personal, she said.

Restoring the carousel will be an ongoing process, Ecklin said, and does not have to be complete for the ride to be assembled and operational.

"For everyone who is wondering, we're not sitting back and doing nothing," Ecklin said. "We are at somewhat of a standstill right now, but we're trying to do small things, like working on restoration of the pieces, so we can be ready to go when we get the word."

And when they get the word, there will still be a lot of work to do.

Because there are so many variables, Ecklin said, it would be difficult to estimate the cost of installing the carousel, wherever it ends up, but acknowledged the final bill would be "obviously into the millions."

"It will be a significant undertaking, but we're up for it," Ecklin said. "We've been chomping at the bit, so to speak, to get started."

Donations to the Rocky Springs Carousel Association can be made through the organization's Web site, www.rockyspringscarousel.com.

E-mail: jtodd@lnpnews.com