Worlds First Ferris Wheel | "Remembering the Legacy of the Ferris Wheel from the 1893 Chicago and 1904 St. Louis World's Fair"

The Chicago Columbia Exposition

Early in 1891 a group of civic leaders met in Chicago discussed plans for the upcoming World’s Columbia Exposition. At the meetings plans were discussed for different attractions at the exposition. A major theme of the Exposition was to demonstrate new sciences and technology emerging from the USA at that time. Something distinctive was needed that would demonstrate the United States as a technological leader. The foremost symbol of...

The Ferris Wheel

There were many proposals, but one that towered about all was submitted by a young, 33 year old engineer, names George Washington Ferris. An accomplished Civil Engineer, having designed a number of steel bridges and high rise buildings throughout the country. Mr. Ferris proposed an “Observation Wheel” that would be greater than anything ever attempted. His suggestions was ridiculed as being impossible to build and labeled him as “the man...

The Cars

The Exposition opened in May of 1893 with centerpiece of the Fair was the Observation Wheel. The wheel measured 250 feet in diameter and was supported by two massive tower each 140 feet high. The highest point of the wheel was 295 feet, higher than a 25 story building. The wheel held 36 cars each the size of a small bus holding 45 passengers. A total of 2500 passenger could be carried in the Observation Wheel at one time. Admission charge...

Massive

• 22 Stories High
• Taller than any building at that time
• Held 2100 passengers at one time
• 250 feet in diameter
• Raised 15 feet off the ground
• 1.5 million passengers in 1904
• 36 carriages, each 27 feet long
• Each carriage held 60 passengers
• Supported by two 140 feet high towers

INNOVATIONS

• Higher that any skyscraper at the time.
• Used spokes to support the rim
• Held more people that any Ferris
Wheel built since
• Designed and build in a record 6 months
• Operated 24/7 through the fair
without stopping
• Axle connected to outer rim with
flexible spokes
• Powered by two 1,000 hp steam engine

Fourth Feature

"Considered at the time "The Eighth Wonder of the World""