Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome
- Also Known As: Santa Monica Amusement Pier Carousel Building
- Originally a part of: Looff's Amusement Pier
- Originally a part of: Looff Pleasure Pier
- Address: 276 Santa Monica Pier
The Building
The principal historic element of the formerly extensive collection of amusement facilities at the Santa Monica (Looff) Amusement Pier, this is a rare, intact example of an early shelter structure built (1916) to house a carousel in an amusement park and the better preserved of the two such structures that remain on the West Coast.
The Carousel
The Carousel presently in the Hippodrome is Philadelphia Toboggan Company #62, a 3-row carousel that began its career in Cumberland Park, in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1922. It was emplaced at Santa Monica in 1947. As an intact carousel by a first-rate manufacturer and of the general period represented by the Hippodrome, its presence contributes to the integrity of the structure, since it maintains the building's historic use. The interior of the Hippodrome is, furthermore, being restored to its original appearance to provide an approximation of the historic setting of the former carousel.
On the other hand, the carousel is not the original Looff carousel that was manufactured for the Hippodrome. And, of itself, as a rather typical example of Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel work in the early 1920s, it is, while quite attractive, not exceptionally early, rare, or unusually distinguished. It was, however, featured in the film "The Sting," and is well known from its appearance in other films and a host of television series episodes. - NRHP Nomination form, 1987