Charles I. D. Looff
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Charles I. D. Looff was a German master carver and builder of hand-carved
carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
s and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. Looff built the first carousel at
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
in 1876. During his lifetime, he built over 40 carousels, several amusements parks, numerous
roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
s and Ferris wheels, and built California's famous
Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. Attractions Pacific Park Th ...
. He became famous for creating the unique Coney Island style of carousel carving.


Early years

Charles Looff was born as Carl Jürgen Detlev Looff on May 24, 1852 in Bad Bramstedt, Duchy of Holstein, German Confederation (temporary occupied by Denmark in second Schleswig War). His father, Jürgen Detlef Christian Looff, was a master blacksmith and wagon builder. Watching his father, Carl learned how to work with metal and wood. To avoid the coming war, Carl emigrated to the United States. Arriving in Castle Garden, New York City, on August 14, 1870, he changed his first name to Charles. In
low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...
, the letters I and J look very much alike, and confusion set in as to his initials. Somehow, his name became Charles I. D. Looff instead of J. D. Looff. Settling on Leonard Street in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn†...
, he found work as a carver at a furniture factory. Working part-time as a
ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...
instructor, Looff met and married Anna Dolle, also from Germany, 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
merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
. In 1876, he installed his ride at Lucy Vandeveer's Bathing Pavilion at West Sixth Street and Surf Avenue. This was Coney Island's first carousel and first amusement ride. Looff opened a factory at 30
Bedford Avenue Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn, New York City, stretching and 132 blocks, from Manhattan Avenue (Brooklyn), Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint south to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Sheepshead Ba ...
in Brooklyn and continued building more carousels. He installed a merry-go-round at a restaurant and beer garden on Surf Avenue,
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
owned by
Charles Feltman __FORCETOC__ Charles Feltman (1841–1910) was a German-American restaurateur. He is one of several claimed inventors of the hot dog. From pushcart to restaurant mogul Feltman was born in 1841 in Germany and emigrated to America in 1856, at the ag ...
, one of several people credited with inventing the American hot dog. Looff installed another machine at Coney Island and then created a large ride for Asbury Park in New Jersey. Looff began to hire expert carvers such as John Zalar, Marcus Illions, John Mueller and Charles Carmel to help with his expanding business. Charles and Anna had 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 as a result of a trolley accident, would work with their father in some way in the carousel business. When the City of New York took his property under eminent domain to build a city park, Looff moved his family to
Crescent Park Crescent Park was an amusement park in Riverside, East Providence, Rhode Island which ran from 1886 to 1979. During the park's 93-year run, it entertained millions of New Englanders as well as people from all over the world. The park was known ...
, in Riverside, Rhode Island.


Rhode Island years

In 1886, Colonel George Boyden established an amusement park named Crescent Park in Riverside, Rhode Island, on overlooking Narragansett Bay. Boyden commissioned Charles I. D. Looff to build a large carousel at the head of a 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. In 1895, Looff built a larger and more elaborate carousel overlooking the midway. This beautiful ride contains 61 horses, 1 camel, 2 single chariots, and 2 double chariots. He used this ride as a showpiece for prospective buyers to choose the types of carved horses for their machines. Looff built his workshop adjoining the carousel. Here he would produce many merry-go-rounds for amusement parks in New England and across the United States. Looff's daughter, Helen, and her husband Charles Simmons bought the ride from Looff's widow's estate in 1930. This carousel, now owned by the city of East Providence, Rhode Island, has been fully restored, is still operating in its original location 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 National Park Service designated the carousel as a National Historic Landmark. Charles Looff's son, Charles Jr., worked in the shop carving saddles and chariots for his father. In 1920, young Charles purchased Crescent Park and operated it until his death in 1925 at age 44. Charles Jr. built an excursion boat, which he named the ''Miss Looff'' in honor of his sister, Anna, which cruised the waters of Narragansett Bay, bringing customers from
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
and Newport, Rhode Island, to Crescent Park. Charles Jr. married Emma Simmons, the sister of Charles Simmons, who had married Helen Looff. In the early 1900s, Looff built carousels and figure-8 roller coasters for the Texas and Oklahoma state fairs. In 1909, Charles I. D. Looff built a beautiful carousel with 54 horses and presented it to his daughter, Emma, as a wedding present, when she married Louis Vogel. The ride was installed at Natatorium Park in Spokane, Washington. This ride has been restored and operates today at Riverfront Park in Spokane.


California years

Charles I. D., meanwhile, had become enchanted with the possibilities for amusement parks on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
and in August 1910 moved to California, leaving his daughter Helen Looff and her husband Charles Simmons, son Charles Looff Jr. and his wife Emma Simmons Looff to manage the family properties in Rhode Island. Charles I. D. Looff settled in Long Beach and built a factory on West Sixth Street. He purchased property at
The Pike ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, an amusement area on Long Beach's waterfront, and built a magnificent
merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
there. The family lived in an apartment above the ride. Son, Arthur, also operated Lite-a-Line, a type of
Fascination (game) Fascination is a game commonly found in North American amusement parks, boardwalks and arcades. The game would be considered in the same family as skee ball, in that prizes are often won for playing the game. The game dates to 1918, with the firs ...
at the Pike that is still in operation today at 2500 Long Beach Boulevard in Long Beach. It was subsequently moved in the early part of the 21st century. It also houses a small but very detailed and vivid museum in honor of his carvings and ride technology but most specifically Looff's Long Beach Pike enterprise. In 1943, fire destroyed the Pike carousel. Son Arthur replaced it with another Looff merry-go-round. In 1916, Looff with his son, Arthur, designed and built Looff's
Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. Attractions Pacific Park Th ...
along the south side of the city's long, narrow, municipal pier. They constructed a large Byzantine-
Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...
style "Hippodrome" building to house one of their ornate carousels, now known as the Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome. The Looffs 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 Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, b ...
, Venice Beach, and Santa Cruz, as well as Griffith Park in Los Angeles (still in operation) which coincidentally is the carousel that helped inspire Walt Disney to design and eventually build Disneyland and Disney World. Disneyland Resorts has on display the actual park bench that Disney sat on as he watched his daughters ride the merry-go-round and day-dreamed about a new type of totally immersive theme park experience. There has also been a Looff carousel horse added to the exhibit at the entrance to the "Moments with Lincoln" attraction at Disneyland in
Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
. :File:Griffith Park Bench.jpg Looff built a short-lived amusement park in Seattle called Luna Park. The carousel at Luna Park had been planned for San Francisco, but the infamous earthquake prompted Looff to create Luna Park in Seattle instead. Today that carousel has returned to San Francisco and is thrilling new generations of children. Charles I. D. Looff died on July 1, 1918, in Long Beach, California. After his death, his son Arthur continued to manage the family's West Coast operation, including building the Giant Dipper roller coaster at the
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States. Description ...
. The Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome and the Santa Cruz Looff Carousel and Roller Coaster were both designated National Historic Landmarks in 1987.


Looff carousels


References

*''A Pictorial History of the Carousel'' by Frederick Fried - 1964 *''Painted Ponies'' by William Manns, Peggy Shank, Marianne Stevens - 1986 *''Carousel Art'' - A magazine for people who love merry-go-rounds-PO Box 667, Garden Grove, California 92642 *''Art of the Carousel'' by Charlotte Dinger - 1984 *''A History of the American Amusement Industry'' by
William F. Mangels William F. Mangels (1866–1958) was an amusement manufacturer and inventor. He worked at Coney Island and was a major player in the development of American amusement parks at the start of the 20th century. In addition to manufacturing carousels an ...
*''The Carousel Keepers, An Oral History of American Carousels'' by Carrie Papa - 1998 *''Rhode Island Amusement Parks'' by Rob Lewis and Ryan Young - 1998 *''A Century of Fun-A Pictorial History of New england Amusement Parks'' by Bob Goldsack -1993 *''Dear Old Nat...Spokane's Playground'' by Nostalgia Magazine - 2003 *''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 *''The Great American Carousel'' by Tobin Fraley - 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Looff, Charles I.D. 1852 births 1918 deaths People from Bad Bramstedt People from the Duchy of Holstein German emigrants to the United States American woodcarvers Amusement ride manufacturers Carousel designers People from Greenpoint, Brooklyn Carousel manufacturers