World Takes an Unexpected Turn

The giant globe at Leisure World, which revolved for the first time in decades after volunteers raised $18,000 to fix it, has stopped again.

The 30-foot globe, which stopped turning in 1972 shortly after it was built, moved for two days last week, until a safety inspector found an exposed gear chain and recommended shutting it down.

Discouraged but determined, the volunteers said they will keep trying.

“We’ve worked hard on this project,” said Alex H. Alexander, a Leisure World resident who persuaded the Saddleback Kiwanis Club to conduct a fund-raising drive for the globe. “We’ve had too many compliments about what we’re doing to be disappointed.”

Jim O’Connell, an electrician who has volunteered time to fix the globe, said a new cover for the gear chain will be in place by Wednesday, and the globe should resume turning.

“Don’t panic, the world will turn again,” he said. “We’re anxious to get it going, but we just want to make sure nothing else goes wrong from a liability standpoint.”

Towering over busy Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y, the metal globe was the brainchild of Leisure World developer Ross Cortese--a symbol of his dream to create an international chain of retirement communities.

But when the globe stopped turning in 1972, Leisure World management deemed it too costly to repair.

Decades later, after many trips down the freeway wondering why the globe wasn’t moving, Alexander enlisted the Kiwanis Club to help raise money for a new motor and new lights.

Last October, the globe was deemed ready to spin once again.

But it turned out that the motor wasn’t large enough, and it took another seven months to find and install a motor sturdy enough to turn the giant globe. But finally the world was ready to turn.

Dozens of people turned out on Thursday to cheer as the metal frame began turning. But once again, Murphy’s Law--which says that if anything can go wrong, it will--stepped in.

A safety inspector pointed out that an exposed gear chain could present a hazard. Regretfully, Leisure World officials ordered the globe stopped.

“I was devastated when I had to make the calls” letting people know about the shutdown, said Tanya McElhany, Leisure World spokeswoman. “It had been so wonderful to see the community respond to renovating the globe.

“People were stopping their cars and taking pictures and driving by and honking at it,” McElhany said. “It might seem to some that it has this little jinx on it, but I can tell you, [the volunteers] will be diligent about getting the globe running again.”