Magical Merry-go-round

The Boardwalk’s oldest ride, known as a merry-go-round, carousel, or whirlgig, opened as the “hippodrome,” where one hundred rocking chairs were provided so mothers could enjoy the music and watch their children ride the new horses. Its preservation has been a labor of love, with Boardwalk artists repairing and repainting the horses during the off-season. The carousel was named a National Historic Monument in 1987. Charles I.D. Looff began building carousels in 1880, and by 1911, when he delivered this carousel, he was well known and wealthy from his work; his son Arthur built the Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper roller coaster. The carousel also has one of the few remaining ring dispensers in the country, once supplied by hand by a “ring boy” before the process was mechanized in 1950, and the Boardwalk now uses more than 70,000 steel rings each year, with brass rings reserved for special occasions. All 73 horses were originally made by Looff’s company, each with a real horsehair tail; 71 “jumpers” move up and down, two “standers” remain stationary, and chariots allowed ladies of the early 1900s to ride modestly and safely.

Santa Cruz, California · United States