the city of L.A. shut down the pony rides in the park<\/a> after getting pressure from animal rights groups alleging the animals were not being taken care of properly.<\/p>\nWithout the pony rides and the merry-go-round, there are fewer inexpensive activities for low-income families who can take their children to the park and entertain them without breaking the bank.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are fun, relatively inexpensive things kids can do in the park and it\u2019s often their introduction to the park,\u201d said Marian Dodge, FofGP board member who lives close to the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a tradition,\u201d said said on Wednesday. \u201cEverybody says: \u2018I used to go on the merry-go-round all the time,\u2019 and they are 50 and 60 years old! Everybody is anxious for the merry-go-round to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walt Disney used to bring his daughters to the park and watch them ride the famous merry-go-round, reported to be the only one like it in the western United States. The carousel, enclosed in a building and boarded up, is located with an area of the park called Park Center, near the Old Zoo Picnic Area and Shane\u2019s Inspiration Playground.<\/p>\n
While sitting on a bench, Disney\u2019s imagination was taken by the carousel and its Stinson 165 Military Band Organ playing more than 1,500 selections, usually marches and waltz music. The ride was inspiration for a theme park he later created, called Disneyland.<\/p>\n
\u201cGone With The Wind\u201d movie actress Olivia de Havilland also was sighted watching the carousel go \u2019round.<\/p>\n
Once purchased, the RAP report says it need repairs to the turning mechanisms. Also the paint and woodworking of the horses need work, Dodge said.<\/p>\n
Though it is enclosed, ground squirrels would burrow up into the building and chew on the horses\u2019 tails, she said.<\/p>\n
The merry-go-round is unique because it is the only one in the West with hand-carved horses made out of Basswood and Poplar that are four abreast and considered \u201cone of the most decorated carousels ever carved.\u201d The renowned carvers include Charles Looff, creator of the Santa Monica Pier, according to an appraisal from A & E Sculpting in Los Alamitos, CA. The group estimated the value of the entire carousel at $1 million.<\/p>\n
It originally operated in San Diego, then was purchased and moved to Griffith Park in 1937. It was purchased by Rosemary West later on. The co-owner, Julio Gosdinski, died in 2020 and his share of the carousel went into probate court.<\/p>\n
Because the entire Griffith Park was designated a historic cultural monument in Los Angeles in 2009, the merry-go-round is a big part of that designation and it factored into the historical designation, said the Los Angeles Conservancy in a letter to the RAP board.<\/p>\n
The merry-go-round played a role in L.A.\u2019s social and civil rights movements, was featured in Hollywood movies and was considered at one time \u201cthe heart and soul of the park,\u201d according to the South Pasadena firm, Antique Carousels. The first LGBTQ \u201cgay-in\u201d rally was staged there in 1968, according to the Conservancy, as well as other demonstrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe contextual history of the Merry-Go-Round within Griffin Park makes it imperative that it say in its current location,\u201d wrote Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the L.A. Conservancy in a letter to the RAP board.<\/p>\n
Besides its place in history, Dodge said the moving horses and the ride of the carousel made it one of the most enjoyable moments in the entire 4,000-plus acres of the city\u2019s largest park \u2014 something she wants to come back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you are on the merry-go-round and you are going up and down, you can\u2019t help but feel happy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To find out more, or to donate to the merry-go-round repair fund go online to Friendsofgriffithpark.org<\/a>. Also donations can be made by check to: Friends of Griffith Park. In the memo section, write \u201cmerry-go-round.\u201d Mail to: P.O. Box 27573, Los Angeles, 90027.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally Published: August 20, 2025 at 4:44 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city of Los Angeles\u2019 Recreation and Parks Department is planning on buying the historic carousel that entertained…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":162467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,718,39405,39406,39407,28579,2961,224,6080,5337,50,39408,39409,93958,27696,39410,10100,15186,39411,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-162466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-community","11":"tag-foothill-cities","12":"tag-harbor-area","13":"tag-high-desert","14":"tag-inland-empire","15":"tag-la","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-county","18":"tag-losangeles","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-north-beaches","21":"tag-northwest","22":"tag-oc-beaches","23":"tag-palos-verdes-peninsula","24":"tag-san-fernando-valley","25":"tag-san-gabriel-valley","26":"tag-south-bay","27":"tag-south-beaches","28":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115063995093232112","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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