The Seaport Village Carousel, also known as the Fair Park Looff Carousel, is a historic wooden

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

in the western wing of

Seaport Village Seaport Village is a waterfront shopping and dining complex adjacent to San Diego Bay in downtown San Diego, California. The complex houses more than 70 shops, galleries, and eateries on of waterfront property. It contains several freestandin ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. It was built by noted carver Charles I. D. Looff, who also constructed the

Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large 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. The pier is part of the greater Santa Monic ...

. The carousel costs a small fee to ride and contains 54 animals and 2 chariots. It is owned by the

Perron family The Perron family is an American family known for preserving historic carousels. Wife and husband team Carol and Duane Perron began collecting individual carousel figures and later entire carousels in the 1970s. As of 2024, the family owns 21 com ...

History

Charles I. D. Looff hand-carved the carousel in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, in 1895. It was not until 1904 when it was opened, however, when it debuted at

Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of Downtown Dallas, downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the building ...

, in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. It was not until the it was moved to

Pacific Ocean Park Pacific Ocean Park was a nautical-themed amusement park built on a pier at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park section of Santa Monica, California in 1958. Intended to compete with Disneyland, it replaced Ocean Park Pier (1926–1956). After it close ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, in 1958 when the carousel had rounding boards and scenery panels installed. These were designed in a style reminiscent of the 1930s. It moved again in 1967 to an amusement park in

Spanaway, Washington Spanaway is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,476 at the 2020 census, up from 27,227 in 2010. Spanaway is an unincorporated area near Tacoma, and is often identified together with ...

, where it stayed until 1982. The Perron family had bought the carousel in September 1979 in an auction and transported it to Willamette Center in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in 1984. The Perrons converted all the figures on the carousel to Looff-made ones, as they had previously been made by other manufacturers. It moved to

Lloyd Center Lloyd Center is a shopping mall in the Lloyd District, Portland, Oregon, Lloyd District of Portland, Oregon, United States, just northeast of Downtown Portland, downtown. It is owned by the Urban Renaissance Group and KKR Real Estate Finance T ...

in 1988. Historic Carousels, Inc. restored the carousel in 1991 to prepare it for the

AmeriFlora '92 AmeriFlora '92 was an international horticultural exhibition held in Columbus, Ohio, United States from April 20 to October 12, 1992. Taking place on 88 acres (356,123 m2) of landscaped grounds at Franklin Park (Columbus park), Franklin Park, the ...

exhibition in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. It was later relocated to

Burbank Town Center Burbank Town Center (formerly Media City Center) is a large shopping mall complex that opened in August 1991 in Burbank, California, United States. The three-level indoor mall is anchored by Macy's, Burlington, Sears, and ROUND1 Bowling & A ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

, in 1997. The carousel moved to its current location in Seaport Village in 2004. It replaced the Broadway Flying Horses Carousel, which had been at the location since 1977.

Features

The carousel is hand-carved nearly entirely from wood. With three rows, it has a menagerie style, with assorted animals being included aside from the horses. There are 54 animals in total, with 2 chariots that can hold multiple people. Out of the 54 animals, 30 are jumping horses and 11 are standing horses. The horses' tails are made of natural horsehair. The other 13 are the menagerie animals, with the carousel containing 3 camels, 3 giraffes, 1 teddy bear, 1 dog, 1 dragon, 1 goat, 1 lion, 1 burro, and 1 elephant. There is no

fairground organ A fairground organ is a musical organ covering the wind and percussive sections of an orchestra. Originating in Paris, France, these organs were designed for use in commercial fairground settings to provide loud music to accompany rides and a ...

playing music at the carousel.

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in San Diego Carousels in California Carousels on the National Register of Historic Places in California Tourist attractions in San Diego

History

Features

See also

References