Charles I. D. Looff - Rhode Island

Rhode Island

In 1886, Colonel George Boyden established an amusement park named Crescent Park in Riverside, Rhode Island on 50 acres (200,000 m2) overlooking the Providence River. Boyden commissioned Charles I. D. Looff to build a large carousel at the head of a 400-foot 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, Charles I. D. Looff built another, larger and more elaborate carousel overlooking the midway. 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 has been 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 United States Department of Interior, National Park Service, designated the Carousel as a National Historic Landmark.

Charles Looff's son, Charles, worked in the shop carving saddles and chariots for his father. In 1920, young Charles purchased Crescent Park and operated it until his death. He installed many of the popular rides of the time, including the Rivers of Venice, and the Shoot the Chutes. He converted the huge exhibition hall into the Alhambra Ballroom by adding large roof trusses and removing the many columns, thereby opening the whole floor into one big space. Looff's son, Charles, also built an excursion boat, which he named the “Miss Looff” after his sister Anna, which cruised the waters of Narragansett Bay bringing customers from Providence and Newport, Rhode Island to Crescent Park. Son Charles married Emma Simmons, the sister of Charles Simmons, who had married Helen Looff. In 1909, Charles I. D. Looff built a beautiful carousel with 54 horses and gave it to his daughter, Emma, as a wedding present, when she married Louis Vogel. The ride was installed at Natatorium Park in Spokane, Washington.