Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome
- Style
- Moorish / Mudéjar
- City
- Los Angeles, CA
The Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome opened on June 12, 1916, built by carousel maker Charles I. D. Looff and his son Arthur to house Looff's own carousel on what was then Looff's Pleasure Pier, next to the Santa Monica Pier. The carousel it holds today isn't the original — Looff sold his in 1939, and it was replaced by Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel #62, moved over from the Ocean Park Pier.
the building
A different carousel. The Looff family's original carousel left the building in 1939; the Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel riding inside it today was moved here from the Ocean Park Pier.
On camera. Scenes for the 1973 film The Sting were shot inside the Hippodrome, one of the building's several appearances on screen over its century on the pier.
the style
The Hippodrome mixes Moorish Revival and Byzantine Revival detailing, an eclectic combination common in early-20th-century amusement architecture built to feel exotic and festive rather than authentic to any one source.
More on Moorish / Mudéjarsignificance
The city of Santa Monica has owned the Hippodrome since 1977 and restored it between 1977 and 1981; it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a City of Santa Monica Designated Historic Landmark.
nearby
- Horatio West Court
- Sovereign Hotel
- "Binoculars "
- Gehry Residence
- Case Study House #9 - John Entenza House
- Case Study House #8 - The Eames House and Studio and Grounds