The Carousel

Its a dollar per person! And i love carousels =)

When you enter the huge enclosed building containing the carousel, you know that this was once a hugely popular ride decades ago… likely because it was the only amusement park ride at the Pier back in the day. Pacific Park has since expanded on the park rides, obviously, but there’s just something very old-timey about this place that can’t be touched.

It’s the most Coney Island-esque thing I can think of in all of Los Angeles.. minus the crowds, or even a handful of people for that matter. I hope it lives forever, despite the fact that barely anybody comes here.

Note: You can still find a carousel music record (on the Takoma label) in various dusty vintage stores that contains recordings of the Santa Monica Pier carousel back in the day (which was likely different back then.) I still listen to this record. The carousel may have changed, but the look and feel certainly has not.