Carousel Gardens Amusement Park — City Park's 1906 Carousel

Charles Looff and Charles Carmel hand-carved fifty-six figurines for the carousel that arrived in City Park in 1906 — fifty-three animals and two chariots, some of the animals dating to 1885. The lions weigh five hundred pounds. All the horses have real horsehair in their tails. Some of the heads move. Looff's figures carry faux gemstones; Carmel's work shows itself in the tongues, blankets, and armor. The same motor that turned the platform in 1906 still turns it now. A Wurlitzer #150 Band Organ provides the music. The carousel was moved to its current location in 1928. It is one of one hundred hand-carved wooden carousels left in the country, the only one left in Louisiana. Looff was an immigrant and master carver who built over fifty carousels, amusement parks, roller coasters, and Ferris wheels. Carmel learned from Looff, then struck out on his own. The park around the carousel now holds eighteen old-fashioned rides — a Ferris wheel, a miniature train, the Live Oak Ladybug Rollercoaster, a drop tower called the Coney Tower. *Living Proof* filmed here. *NCIS: New Orleans* and *American Horror Story* filmed here. Nike, Adidas, and Toyota filmed commercials here. Visit during Celebration in the Oaks, late November through December, when the whole park lights.