Charles I. D. Looff was a Danish master carver and builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. Looff built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. During his lifetime, he built over 40 carousels, several amusements parks, numerous 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.
Charles I. D. Looff
The Flying Horses (1890), reinstalled at Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts 1914-1976
Charles I. D.Looff family at the 1895 Crescent Park Carousel, Riverside, RI c. 1905
1895 Crescent Park Looff Carousel c.1980s
A carousel or carrousel, merry-go-round (international), Galloper (international) or roundabout is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The "seats" are traditionally in the form of rows of wooden horses or other animals mounted on posts, many of which are moved up and down by gears to simulate galloping, to the accompaniment of looped circus music.
A French old-fashioned carousel with stairs in La Rochelle
Carousel feast at the Grand-Place in Brussels in 1565 to mark the wedding of the Duke of Parma
The Carousel organised in the courtyard of the Tuileries Palace by Louis XIV in June 1662 to celebrate the birth of his son and heir apparent
Pictured in Margate, England in the 1880s, Savage's amusement ride, Sea-On-Land, where the riders would pitch up and down as if they were on the sea. His "galloping horse" innovation is seen on carousels today.
