Looff Carousel Pictures
Lighthouse Point, East Haven, CT

Here's some pictures I took of the Looff Carousel at Lighthouse Point Park in East Haven. The last time we were here was in the winter, and we didn't even notice what this building was.

This time I had brought my relatives here as a refreshing, unwinding stop, before having to take them to the Tweed Airport in East New Haven, for their return flight to Indiana.

When we strolled over to the lighthouse to take pictures, we saw this building and heard the organ music. What a shock to find out there is a Looff Carousel in New Haven! The only one I had seen before and even rode on, was the Looff Carousel at Crescent Park in Riverside, RI.

This carousel house sits not very far from the lighthouse, and as you can see there is a picnic shelter nearby. The windows in the place are huge, my daughter is standing outside of one. The area is so big inside it would seem the front area may have been used for dancing at one time.

The Looff Carousel

Here is a picture of the view of the carousel from the front of the building. When I asked the ladies who were running the carousel about the history of it, this is what they told me.

They said this carousel was built by Looff, Carmel and Murphy in a building in Savin Rock, CT, but this is not the Savin Rock Looff Carousel. (The Savin Rock Carousel is now at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California.)

It opened in 1911, but closed in the 1980's for renovation. It has been reopened but only for private parties. She said the walls were lined with all sorts of little vendor shops, but they took them all out. Each of the horses are beautifully carved and painted, the tails for the horses are real horse hair. It has 4 rows and a Stinson Band Organ.

Click here to view a large picture of one of the Looff Carousel horses

A Brief History

Who was Mr. Looff and what made him start handcarving carousel horses? Charles I.D. Looff was from Europe and had made a success of his first completed carousel at Coney Island in 1875. He then went on to make several more across the country. Some of them, like the one in East Providence, with the brass rings.

His great-granddaughter, Charleen Cowan, has revealed some details about Mr.Charles I.D. Looff and his sense of humor. He was an immigrant to America as a young man and had an opportunity to choose his own middle initials. The Ellis Island officials told Looff that he had to have a middle name for his I.D. (or identification), so he chose I.D.

Looff's sense of humor and personality show in his handcarved horses too. The carousel horses display a variety of different looks and expressions, some showing all their teeth and some more serene. You can believe that each horse is unique, with it's very bold colorful details, to different types of saddles and harnesses. Unfortunately when Mr. Looff died, no one carried on this very artistic craft.