Riding a wave of nostalgia to rebuild an icon of Long Beach history

For years, Larry Osterhoudt has been obsessed with the dream of bringing the iconic Long Beach roller coaster the Cyclone Racer back to the city, meticulously reverse-engineering long-lost blueprints, building a scale model of the ride’s entrance and even catching the attention of some prominent city leaders.

Osterhoudt’s scale models of the Cyclone Racer’s cars, which he was finally able to study after persuading an antiques collector who owned one to give him access.  (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)