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Spokane's 1909 Looff Carrousel
On July 18, 1909, our Looff Carrousel began operation in Spokane's Natatorium Park, an amusement park on the
bank of the Spokane River on the west side of Spokane.
Nat park closed its doors in 1967, but the carrousel has been in operation at Riverfront Park in Spokane since 1975.
The Louis and Lloyd Vogel families were honored in July, 2022 under the Monument Program of Notable People in Spokane's History. More . . .
Our carousel has been in operation in its new building since 2018! Be sure to stop by and visit the carrousel to see the our new building and our better-than-new 1909 Looff carrousel!
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Did you know?
Our c.1900 Ruth & Sohn band organ is undergoing a conversion to allow it to play MIDI files. This conversion will allow
our band organ to replace its punched-paper rolls with a computer. And it will be able to play a wide variety of music from traditional marches to contemporary songs.
The conversion also adds the ability to control the volume of the band organ, which is an unheard of option for a traditional band organ.
The project was started just before the COVID pandemic, and has been on hold for the last four years. If you'd like to help get this project over the finish line, please consider making a donation. Donations can be made online by Clicking Here.
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Our Brand New 1909 Looff Carrousel
Here are a few pictures of our carousel and of the long-awaited new carrousel building.
The carousel has been completely cleaned up and repainted and looks as good (or maybe better) than it did when it was new in 1909!
For a nice overview of the construction process and carrousel restoration, see these videos:
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The Carousel Of Smiles
Here in Spokane, Washington, we're fortunate enough to have an all-original
Looff Carrousel in Riverfront Park.
This extraordinary blend of art and machinery has been located in Spokane since it
was manufactured and delivered to its original location at Natatorium Park in 1909.
It's no accident that this beautiful carrousel is still in Spokane. Keeping
it running and pristine has involved the hard work and devotion of many, many
people over the last 99 years.
Some of the carrousel's major contributors receive recognition on this
website, but many more people throughout the years have loved and cared for this
carrousel as if it were their own. And in many ways, it does belong to all of us.
It's been part of our history, it has a special place in our memories and
it's likely to hold the same place in the hearts of our
children and grandchildren for generations to come.
As you look through our website, you'll see that we have one of the best collections of carrousel pictures
anywhere on the Web.
If you have old pictures of our carrousel, make sure to dig them out and look for pictures
of your horses on our website. You're sure to find them, because all of the
original horses are still in service, giving rides daily to the young and the young at heart.
We also have an original Ruth & Sohn band organ, which you'll find detailed on our band
organ page. You'll find information about its history and recent restoration, as well as
some actual sound clips recorded from the band organ.
You'll find pictures of some of our carrousel figures sprinkled
throughout our pages. Just click on any one of them to take a shortcut to our picture
gallery.
If you've never visited our carrousel, we hope that you'll feel as though you've been
here after looking through our website. And if you're familiar with our carrousel
and have memories or pictures that you'd like to make available to the rest of us, make
sure to sign our guest book or send us your pictures.
Another great site for carrousel information is the
National Carousel Association (NCA).
The purpose of the National Carousel Association is to promote conservation, appreciation, knowledge and enjoyment of the art of the classic wooden carrousel and especially the preservation of complete wooden carrousels.
Make sure to pay them a visit today!
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