Murder Mystery
Map
Cyclone Racer 1
People on car 2
End of ride 3
SUMMERTIME
AT THE PIKE
Part
Two
Short Stories
1
Page
2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
(Excerpts from
E-Mailed stories)
Rainbow
Pier
Short Stories
(Excerpts from
E-Mails)
Background:
All About
The Webmaster
Coming Soon
Early Rides
Pike
Home Page
Born May 24, 1852, Schleswig-Holstein;
Died July 1, 1918, Long Beach, California
Originator of the Coney Island
style carousel,
Charles Looff is considered to be the first
of the great American carousel
manufacturers.
Looff settled in
Long Beach in 1911 and lived above his carousel at the Pike.
Later, Looff operated carousels and major amusements at Santa
Cruz, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Venice, Ocean Park, and San
Francisco. He built the Santa Monica Pier, was a major contributor
to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, and the founder of Playland in San
Francisco.
The original Long Beach Looff carousel built in 1911 burned to
the ground in 1943. Its replacement, a makeshift mechanism, remained
until the demise of the Pike in 1979 and was sold piecemeal.
Even the "I.D." in Charles I.D. Looff has a story. He was born May 24, 1852, in Schleswig-Holstein and immigrated in 1870. "A Ellis Island official told Looff he had to have a middle name 'for his I.D.' (or identification), so he chose "I.D."
Note: A classic carousels has wooden horses, while a merry-go-round has different animals.
Email from Richard Olson 5/5/07
As you probably know, Al Brown was one of Loof's best friends and worked with him on the Pike for years. After Loof died, Al kept the Lite-A-Line going at the far end of the old Pike in the circular building with the great Loof's neon sign on top. Al died a few years ago. His oldest son, Leonard, just died a few days ago, and another link to the Pike has come to an end. Leonard was one of my best friends--he went to Poly, Class of '53, and I went to Millikan, Class of '62--and we used to have great talks about the Pike, and even Shady Acres, which was run by Loof's son-in-law.
Best Wishes,
Richard Olson
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by
Paul Prosise
Screenmagic.com
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