Charles I. D. Looff was a master builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides in America. Looff built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. During his lifetime, he manufactured some forty carousels, several roller coasters and Ferris wheels, and built California's famous Santa Monica Pier. He became famous for creating the unique Coney Island style of carousel carving. is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... For Schleswig-Holstein before 1918, see Province of Schleswig-Holstein. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... This article is about the fairground ride. ... For other uses, see Coney Island (disambiguation). ... A typical roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. ... A Ferris wheel on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey, USA. A Ferris wheel (or, more commonly in the UK, big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim. ... The Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Boulevard in Santa Monica, California and it is the citys most famous landmark. ...

From Denmark to Brooklyn

Charles Looff was born in Bramstedt, Schleswig Holstein, Denmark on May 24, 1852 as Carl Jurgen Detlef Looff. He learned the art of woodcarving and immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York City on August 14, 1870. Settling on Leonard Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, he found work as a carver at a furniture factory. Working part-time as a ballroom dance instructor, Looff met and married Anna Dolle in 1874. After working in the furniture factory all day, he took scraps of wood home to his apartment and began carving them into carousel animals. Young Looff assembled his wooden horses and animals onto a circular platform and created his first amusement ride. He installed his ride at Balmer's Bathing Pavilion at West Sixth Street and Surf Avenue. This was Coney Island's first carousel. For Schleswig-Holstein before 1918, see Province of Schleswig-Holstein. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Views from Greenpoints East River waterfront of Manhattan Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Charles Looff opened a factory at 30 Bedford Avenue and built two more carousels, doing all the carving himself. He located one at Feltman's Beer Garden on Surf Avenue, Coney Island, and the other at Young's Million dollar Pier at Atlantic City, New Jersey. Impressed with this new kind of amusement ride, Mr. Young bought it from the ecstatic carver. Looff began to hire expert carvers such as John Zalar, Marcus Charles Illions, John Mueller and Charles Carmel to help with his expanding business. Map of Atlantic City in Atlantic County Coordinates: Country United States State New Jersey County Atlantic Incorporated March 1854 Government  - Mayor Bob Levy Area  - City  17. ...

Charles and Anna produced six children: Anna (1875-1896), Helen (1877-1956), Emma (1879-1938), Charles (1881-1924), William (1883-1945), Arthur (1888-1970). All except Anna, who died at age 21, would work with their father in the carousel business. When the City of New York took his property under Eminent Domain to build a park, Looff moved his family to the Crescent Amusement Park, in Riverside, Rhode Island. Riverside, Rhode Island is a subdivision of the city of East Providence in the US state of Rhode Island. ...

Rhode Island

Colonel George Boyden built Crescent Park in 1886 on 50 acres overlooking beautiful Narragansett Bay. Boyden commissioned Looff to build a large carousel at the head of a 400-foot pier that received throngs of people from the steamboats that cruised up and down the Bay. Crescent Park became known as "the Coney Island of the East" during this time. Charles I. D. Looff built another carousel a short distance away, which housed his small workshop. He used this ride as a showpiece for prospective buyers to choose the types of horses, etc for their machines. Looff's daughter, Helen, and her husband, Charles Simmons bought the ride from Looff's widow, Anna in 1930. This carousel is still operating, has been renovated, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 1985, the Rhode Island General Assembly proclaimed the Carousel as the "State Jewel of American Folk Art". In 1987, the U. S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, designated the Carousel as a National Historic Landmark. Narragansett Bay, shown in pink. ... A typical plaque showing entry on the National Register of Historic Places. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ...

Charles Looff, Jr. worked in the shop carving saddles and chariots for his father. In 1920, Charles, Jr. purchased Crescent Park. He remodeled the huge Alhambra Ballroom by adding large roof trusses and removing the many columns, thereby opening the whole floor into one big space for ballroom dancing. Charles, Jr. also built an excursion boat, which he named the “Miss Looff” after his sister Anna, which plied the waters of Narragansett Bay bringing customers from Providence and Newport, Rhode Island to Crescent Park. Charles, Jr. married the sister of Charles Simmons, Emma Simmons. In 1909, Charles I. D. Looff built a beautiful carousel with 54 horses and gave it to his daughter, Emma, as a wedding present, when she married Louis Vogel, who owned Natatorium Park in Spokane, Washington. Providence may mean: Divine Providence Providence College in Rhode Island, USA Providence, television series Providence, a 1977 film Providence, a 1991 film starring Keanu Reeves Providence, 1970s-era Providence may also refer to: Providence, Rhode Island (in Providence County) Providence, Alabama Providence, Kentucky Providence, New York It is also the... Newport is a city in Newport County, Rhode Island, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Providence. ... Nickname: Location of Spokane in Spokane County and Washington Coordinates: Country United States State Washington County Spokane Government  - Mayor Dennis P. Hession Area  - City  58. ...

California

Charles I. D., meanwhile, had become enchanted with the possibilities for amusement parks on the West coast and in August 1910 moved the rest of his family to Long Beach, California, leaving Helen and Charles Simmons, Charles, Jr. and Emma Looff in Riverside. Looff settled in Long Beach and built a factory on West Sixth Street. He purchased property at the Pike, an amusement area on the Long Beach’s waterfront, and built a large merry-go-round there. The family lived in an apartment above the ride. In addition to the carousel, Looff operated an amusement game called Lite-a-line. In 1943, the carousel was destroyed by fire. The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... The Pike was an amusement park and arcade near the beach, south of Ocean Boulevard, in Long Beach, California. ...

In 1916, Looff with his son, Arthur, designed and built Looff's Santa Monica Pier along the south-side of the city’s long, narrow, municipal pier. They constructed a large Byzantine-Moorish style Hippodrome building to house one of their ornate carousels. The Looff‘s also erected the Blue Streak Racer wooden roller coaster on their new pleasure pier, along with The Whip and the Aeroscope thrill ride.

In addition to Santa Monica and the Pike, Looff built and operated amusement parks and carousels at Ocean Park, Redondo Beach, Venice Beach, Santa Cruz (still in operation), and San Francisco, California. Other merry-go-rounds were located in Oregon and Washington. Charles I. D. Looff died on July 1, 1918 in Long Beach, California. After his death, Arhtur Looff continued to manage the family's West coast operation, including building the Dipper roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The citys unusually shaped pier Redondo Beach is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. ... ... Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California, United States. ... Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Late evening at the Boardwalk The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. ...

Works

Looff carousels

The Heritage Museums and Gardens (76 acres), formerly the Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, is a collection of museums and gardens located at 67 Grove Street, Sandwich, Massachusetts. ... Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Barnstable County Settled 1637 Incorporated 1639 Government type Open town meeting Area    - Town  44. ... Knoebels Amusement Park & Resort is a family owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove and campground which is located in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. ... Elysburg is a census-designated place located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. ... The Santa Monica Pier is located at the foot of Colorado Boulevard in Santa Monica, California and it is the citys most famous landmark. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ Powell, Ronald W. (2004-04-25). Carousel's run comes to an end. The San Diego Union-Tribune.
2. ^ Lawlor, Barbara (2006-12-13). Carousel of Happiness offered to Nederland, The Mountain Ear.

• A Pictorial History of the Carousel by Frederick Fried - 1964
• The Great American Carousel by Tobin Fraley - 1994
• Carousel Art - A magazine for people who love merry-go-rounds-PO Box 667, Garden Grove, California 92642
• Painted Ponies by William Manns, Peggy Shank, Marianne Stevens - 1986
• Art of the Carousel by Charlotte Dinger - 1984
• A History of the American Amusement Industry by William Mangels
• The Carousel Keepers, An Oral History of American Carousels by Carrie Papa - 1998
• Rhode Island Amusement Parks by Rob Lewis and Ryan Young - 1998
• Early American Wood Carving by Erwin O. Christensen - 1952
• Lincoln Park Remembered 1894-1987 edited by Thomas, McCabe and Furtado - 1999
• Coney Island: The People's Playground by Michael Immerso - 2002
• Fairground Art by Geoff Weedon - 2003
• History of Revere Beach Peter McCauley, City Hall, Revere, Mass. - 1980