Hand-Carved Carousel Brings Smiles to the Neighborhood

A bronze plaque hangs above the doorway of a wooden gazebo on Steve Grabell’s lawn in Calabasas that reads: “A Little Circle of Dreams.”

Inside the 15-foot gazebo is Grabell’s dream: a merry-go-round, complete with a wheezy carillon, bright, blinking lights, big brass rings to grab and five wooden horses that he carved himself. A band organ blares carnival music.

Grabell’s dream began in late 1998, when, on a whim, he promised a woman whose smile he adored that he would build a carousel.

“I had never built a building before,” Grabell said. “Who knew I could build a carousel? But once I said it, I had to do it because I always do what I say.”

Although Grabell, 56, now has a new love interest, his merry-go-round evokes smiles from the men, women and children in his quiet, hillside neighborhood.

“It’s kind of a fun thing,” said Judy Teitelman, who lives nearby. “I love the work done on it.”

“I really like it ‘cause there’s not much to do up here in the mountains,” added 9-year-old Marissa Teitelman, who has ridden on the carousel three times. “It’s a cool idea. Instead of running around, you can go around and around and up and down.”

Until recently, Grabell had never carved anything but initials in a tree in Culver City. But in 1995, he retired after 25 years with the Los Angeles Police Department and decided he needed something to do.

After a short stint creating stained-glass windows--a craft he called “boring and back-breaking”--Grabell saw a magazine article with the title, “You Too Can Carve a Carousel Horse.”

After he had worked the gritty streets for the LAPD’s Hollywood Division, the beauty of the carved horses appealed to Grabell.

Years ago, while he worked an outside job protecting a school parking lot, Grabell nearly was beaten to death, his head crushed by thugs. “[Carving] is much more relaxing,” he said, half-joking.

So Grabell sent away for some wood and a how-to book and video. “I followed their instructions and it was a disaster,” he said.

Eventually, he found a carousel artist in Anaheim. Grabell took lessons, bought some more wood and paint and made a horse. Then he made another, and another.

“Next thing you know, I was building a carousel,” said Grabell, who carves in his garage and is building an air-conditioned studio. “I have no plans to stop.”

Created out of large blocks of basswood, carved and painted with bright colors, a horse can cost several thousand dollars to make. A wood block can cost $600 to $1,000.

But Grabell said he does not keep track of the expenses or the hours he puts into a horse. “I am thinking about everything I have to do,” he said, explaining that carving is a tedious and detailed craft that requires full concentration.

Although he carves mostly as a hobby, Grabell said he may start selling some of his merry-go-round horses. Those who study, track and fight to preserve wooden carousel figures have noted a resurgence of interest among collectors seeking unusual decorations and nostalgic links to childhood.

“Carousel figures have become the ‘in’ thing in wood carving,” said Terry Blake, executive secretary of the National Carousel Assn., a nonprofit organization based in Evansville, Ind., that has nearly 1,000 members worldwide.

During the late 1870s, U.S. amusement park operators started setting up merry-go-rounds on piers for family entertainment. Trolley companies put carousels at the end of the line to attract more evening and weekend passengers, experts say.

At least 5,000 merry-go-rounds existed in the United States in 1925, before the Great Depression wiped out hundreds of carousels as amusement parks closed and merry-go-rounds were dismantled, according to authorities.

By the 1950s, carousels became popular again, but figures were made of cheaper materials such as fiberglass and aluminum.

Today, fewer than 200 wooden carousels operate on regular schedules in North America, said Blake, of the carousel association. California has about 26 carousels with wooden figures, including one on the Santa Monica Pier, one in Griffith Park and one in the Burbank Media City Center.

And the one on Grabell’s front lawn.

FO( 2 photos) Inside the 15-foot gazebo, left, is a five-horse carousel that Steve Grabell, 56, built from scratch. Nine-year-old Marissa Teitelman, above, has ridden it three times and says, “I really like it.”