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If Long Beach Gets A Historic Looff Carousel At Queen Mary, It Will Be Due To This Man


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(July 28, 2016) -- If Long Beach gets a historic Looff Carousel at the Queen Mary, it will be due primarily to the efforts of Long Beach historian and writer Scott Ringwelski.

At what may have been the final meeting (July 27) of a Mayor-chosen advisory Task Force on land development at the Queen Mary, Mr. Ringwelski delivered a presentation that contrasted with generic hotels and marinas that one can arguably find elsewhere. He said one Looff carousel remains available for acquisition; it's currently in storage, and it's not in Long Beach. Mr. Ringwelski recommended that it be acquired with private funds and restored and operated with private funds. He said that once in operation, it could realistically provide revenue and tourism benefits for the City.

To view Mr. Ringwelski's proposal, click here

[Scroll down for further.]


Task Force members paid close attention. Although the panel is advisory only and "received and filed" (took no action) on the presentation, near the end of the meeting the Task Force agreed to specifically to include an "historic" carousel among the types of items it recommends for inclusion at the site.

Mr. Ringwelski told the Task Force that acquiring, restoring and operating the Looff carousel would reconnect Long Beach to its history, draw tourists as carousels do in New York and Paris, make a perfect fit at Harry Bridges Park (western bow end of the Queen Mary), should be done with private funds and would generate revenue for the City.

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Mr. Ringwelski explained that the carousel's builder, Charles Looff, had his factory in Long Beach, built carousels for seaside locations all along the west coast, and lived above the Looff carousel at the original Pike for years. Mr. Looff built the carousel that Mr. Ringwelski proposes to acquire -- for a World's Fair/Exhibition in San Francisco in 1915.

Mr. Ringwelski says it's BIG, sized to handle adults: ten ton capacity, 60 foot diameter platform. 64 figures, 2 chariots holding six each, runs at 9 mph with 25 foot tall centerpole.

It was built over 100 years ago in Long Beach at Looff's factory in the area of 6th St./San Francisco Ave. (torn down to create an entry to the 710 freeway.)

Mr. Ringwelski said the carousel would add a genuine Long Beach historical perspective to the Queen Mary site. He said carousels in other major cities (including NYC at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge) and Paris are listed as "must-see" items in tourist guides.

Mr. Ringwelski is an expert on historic carousels, having operated the former Shoreline Village carousel (one of Looff's originals) from 1994-1998; he tried to save it, but it was sold off and sent to San Francisco where it today operates at the Moscone Center.

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Mr. Ringwelski acknowledges that a smaller carousel currently operates at the Pike shopping area; he said it's from the 1920s, smaller in size with about half the horses...and it's not a Looff original.

At the conclusion of the July 27 Task Force meeting, city management indicated that city staff will now take all of the Task Force multiple recommendations/suggestions (including a 3,000-5,000 person performance venue, although it's not clear exactly where or how; an aerial tram or possible water taxi), put the multiple recommendations into finalized written form and deliver them to the Mayor, who will schedule a date for their presentation to the City Council. The Mayor will then tell the Task Force members when to come to the Council to hear their recommendations presented.

[Ed. note: It remains unclear to LBREPORT.com: what rights the City retains, or gave up, to decide what's done at the Queen Mary site after the City Council leased away the ship and the property to Urban Commons, LLC for 66 years. (LBREPORT.com coverage here.) Councilmembers and the public saw a memo from city staff summarizing major lease terms (the Council's current practice on city leases/contracts) without seeing the full text of the lease before it became binding on the City...and without getting detailed answers from their lessee on what it planned to do with its multi-million dollar investment.]

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