The Spokane Antique Carrousel Society
welcomes you to
SpokaneCarrousel.org! |
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Century Countdown:
239
days!
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 remained in Spokane where it's still in daily operation after almost 100 years. All of the carrousel's original figures are still making their rounds, and they look as good (or maybe even better) today as they did in 1909!
Riverfront Park will be hosting a number of events during 2009 to celebrate our
carrousel's 100th birthday. Check back later for more information. Hope to see you there!
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Here in Spokane, Washington, we're fortunate enough to have an all-original
Looff Carrousel in operation 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 operating 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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