Looff Carrousel | Interpretive Design Plan
client: City of Spokane Parks and Recreation
location: Spokane, WA | size: 1,600 sq ft | completed: 2016
The Looff Carrousel has been a Spokane destination since 1909. Designed and carved by the confident and talented Charles Looff, it is one of the most beautiful and well preserved hand-carved carousels in America. This ride embodies the hopes and dreams of early American immigrant crafts people, engineers, and technicians, and these were stories that Mindy and her team aimed to make tangible for visitors.
The Looff Carrousel is a rare survivor from the Golden Age of American carousels, and all of the carousel figures are original. Although not currently a widely practiced art, carousel making is illustrious, and dates back to the Middle Ages. This impressive piece has been lovingly and painstakingly preserved by many people, but not least of all, Betty Largent, a carousel restoration artist who has dedicated herself to the effort.