Santa Monica’ historic carousel has been dismantled and is lying in thousands pieces on the floor of the Byzantine fantasy structure on the pier.
Todd W. Goings has been charged with putting it back together. He should, after all, since he’s the one who took it apart in the first place.
Goings, a leading international provider of carousel refurbishment, has been hired to restore the vintage 1920s carousel, which is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. The City of Santa Monica and Roth Management, the carousel operators, brought in Goings two months ago to begin the arduous task of dismantling the landmark.
Goings brought the pieces that needed to be replaced or repaired to his shop in Ohio after spending two weeks here in September. Hundreds of pieces needed to be replaced, and Goings made new molds for each one in a casting machine.
670,“Each one of these I make a pattern for so it has the same look. We try to keep these old machines looking the way they are supposed to look,” he said this week. “There are lots of bits and pieces.”
Goings, who works on carousels around the country, including the Heritage Carousel in Ontario, Canada, spends about three months a year traveling to different cities refurbishing the antique machines.
Goings, who owns Goings Carousel and Carvings, will also clean, oil and repair the carousel’s central post — the main system of bearings and gears that turns the vintage merry-go-round.
“The center bearing was pretty well worn out,” he said. “It’s a complete overhaul.”
Goings and his partner, Tom Iverson, will have the carousel up and running by Nov. 25 by working every day until then. A grand opening is scheduled for Dec. 1.
Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp. acting executive director Ben Franz-Knight said the overhaul is to ensure the carousel will be enjoyed by thousands in the future.
“The repairs being made to the carousel now will ensure that the public can enjoy this great resource for years to come,” he said. “When work is completed, the carousel will run as smoothly as it did when it was placed and dedicated in 1947.”
“When work is completed, the carousel will run as smoothly as it did when it was placed and dedicated in 1947.” — — BEN FRANZ-KNIGHT Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corp
The carousel, which has become one of Santa Monica’s premier event sites for fundraisers, television and film productions, weddings and birthday parties, is one of only 140 original antique carousels that are still operational.
The carousel was overhauled about 50 years ago, and Goings tuned it up last year. This year’s project is expected to cost about $100,000.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 16, 2002. Read the original PDF.