In my book A Very Typical Family, which is set in Santa Cruz, CA, my characters don’t visit the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, but rest assured, Kit will be spending many happy summer days at the Boardwalk, and I see some romantic carousel rides in Natalie’s future. And what a unique carousel it is!
I’m covering the Looff carousel here because it is the soul of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for me. Riding it is one of my earliest memories. Installed in 1911, it is considered a “pure” carousel in that all of the horses used were produced by the same company.
The Santa Cruz Looff carousel features hand-carved horses from Danish woodcarver Charles I.D. Looff and with the amazing 342-piece Ruth band organ built in 1894, the Boardwalk got its heart. Fun fact: when Looff immigrated to the US, he was asked for his middle name for ID purposes, which he didn’t have. So he put ID as his middle name.
According to Wikipedia, Looff built about 40 carousels between 1876 and 1916. The Looff Wikipedia page says that 10 carousels are still in operation today, but the Santa Cruz Boardwalk page for the carousel says only 6 survive.
Each horse is hand-painted and are still manually touched up today.
The rings
One of the best things about this carousel is the brass ring dispenser, where riders on the outside row can reach out and grab rings, which you then toss at the clown’s mouth as you pass. If your ring makes it in the mouth, a bell goes off. It is terribly exciting. Apparently, it is one of only twenty ring dispensers still operating in the world. You’re totally not supposed to keep the rings, but are you even from Santa Cruz if you don’t have a ring among your things somewhere? Stretching your arm out to grab your first ring is a rite of passage for anyone who grew up in Santa Cruz.
The Boardwalk’s blog says, “Each year, Boardwalk staff ungrudgingly replaces thousands of rings that become ready-made souvenirs for riders who abscond with them beneath signs stating, ‘Do Not Remove Rings from Building.’ So significant is this ring apparatus, if it is not operating for any extended time, Boardwalk visitors register their immediate displeasure by not riding.”
The number of replacement rings annually is around 70,000. When the unwise decision was taken by management to discontinue the rings in the 1970s, ridership plummeted by 70 percent (1). I like to think that the executive who thought himself clever in this cost-saving maneuver had to take two weeks off because he was so embarrassed.
It absolutely amazes me that the original hand-carved horses, which have seated millions of riders over the years, are still in operation today. A large restoration took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which more Looff horses were purchased.
Hearing the organ and the ring of the bell when it is time to board the carousel are sounds that are ingrained in me.
More on the Looff carousel:
- History of the Looff carousel, from the Boardwalk blog
- The Looff Carousel’s Nostalgic Charm, from the Boardwalk blog
- An interview with Jimmy Raun-Byberg, who touches up the paint (San Jose Mercury News)
Sources
(1) Santa Cruz Coast by Gary Griggs and Deepika Shrestha Ross
Buy A Very Typical Family
More Santa Cruz good stuff:
- My post on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
- My post on the blue whale skeleton at Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz
- My post on Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz
- My post on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz