The Brief History of the Ferris Wheel

In late 1892, Daniel Burnham, the eminent architect tasked with transforming a boggy square mile of Chicago into a world-class attraction, gathered a team of top designers with one objective: "Make no little plans." Burnham was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, an elegant wrought iron structure that had recently been erected in Paris, soaring a thousand feet into the air.

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However, no one in America had a response to the Eiffel Tower. Proposals surfaced, such as a tower adorned with rails extending to distant cities for tobogganing, and another one which involved guests being launched off from heights with rubber bands - an early envisioning of bungee jumping. Even Eiffel himself proposed building a larger tower. Yet, as the plans for the World’s Columbian Exposition began to materialize, there was still a lack of a striking centerpiece. Burnham expressed his discontent with the engineers' lack of creativity during a meeting, asserting that they needed to conceive "something novel, original, daring, and unique." George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., a 33-year-old engineer from Pittsburgh, eventually had a stroke of genius and sketched a massive revolving steel wheel. He shared this innovative design with Burnham, who initially criticized the fragile rods intended to elevate passengers higher than the newly opened Statue of Liberty, declaring them "too fragile.”

Ferris wasn't the first to dream of such a wheel. A carpenter named William Somers had been constructing 50-foot wooden wheels labeled as "roundabouts" at various amusement locales. He even secured a patent for his design. Nonetheless, the high expected turnouts at the fair encouraged Ferris to take a bold financial step, investing $25,000 of his own money into safety studies, recruiting engineers, and seeking investors. Ultimately, on December 16, 1893, his wheel was selected as the definitive response to the Eiffel Tower. It expanded 250 feet in diameter and contained 36 cars, each holding 60 passengers.

The massive Ferris Wheel comprised over 100,000 parts, highlighted by an 89,320-pound axle lifted onto two towers standing 140 feet tall. Launching on June 21, 1893, it became an immense triumph, attracting over 1.4 million visitors who paid 50 cents for a 20-minute ride, granting them a breathtaking aerial panorama. "It is an indescribable sensation," a reporter named Robert Graves described, "to revolve through such a vast orbit in a bird cage."

However, as the fair concluded, Ferris found himself engulfed in a web of lawsuits concerning debts owed to suppliers and those creditors believed were owed him by the fair organizers. In 1896, after succumbing to bankruptcy and suffering from typhoid fever, he passed away at the young age of 37. The wheel was acquired by a wrecking company and was later sold to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, where it met its fate two years later, reduced to rubble through dynamite.

Thus fell the single official Ferris wheel. Nevertheless, the invention has continued to thrive through numerous imitators inspired by the joy Ferris's creation unlocked. While Eiffel's monument remains a one-of-a-kind creation, millions around the world now swirl through the skies aboard brightly lit replicators, sharing in a feeling articulated loveably years later by Joni Mitchell: "Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels," she sang, "the dizzy dancing way you feel." Summer travelers can resonate with those sentiments.

The original Ferris Wheel, commonly referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was conceived and built by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as the main attraction of the Midway at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Many other Ferris wheels subsequently emerged, inspired by its design.

Designed to rival the Eiffel Tower, which stood at 324 meters (1,063 ft), the Ferris Wheel claimed the title of the tallest attraction at the Columbian Exposition, towering at 80.4 meters (264 ft).

Later, the Ferris Wheel was dismantled and reassembled in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and subsequently taken apart for a final assembly at the World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Ultimately, it was demolished in 1906. In 1915, the wheel's 45-foot, 70-ton axle was rumored to have been discovered buried near its deconstruction site.

Early history

Prior to the advent of the Ferris Wheel, the Eiffel Tower showcased a new icon in Paris, garnering an idea deemed necessary for American attractions. Although Gustave Eiffel and other inventors suggested various concepts to transport a similar tower to the states, Burnham conceived the monumental wheel idea. Initially deemed unsafe by Ferris and his team of metal workers, the project persisted under Ferris's guidance, who envisioned a grandiose centerpiece for the World's Columbian Exposition. Ferris's creation eventually captivated 1.4 million attendees starting June 21, 1893.

Design and construction

The Ferris Wheel was designed and built by Ferris, a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bridge builder from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His career started in the railroad sector before shifting to bridge building, recognizing the importance of structural steel and founding G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm dedicated to metal testing and inspections for railroads and bridge construction.

During winter 1892, the wheel was constructed in Jackson Park. Dynamite was utilized to establish a foundation, breaking through three feet of frozen terrain. Timber was driven thirty-two feet into the ground, topped with a steel grillage and concrete. Workers employed steaming jets to thaw the earth and prevent freezing.

Upon completion, the wheel spun on a 71-ton, 45.5-foot axle - then known as the largest hollow forging globally. Manufactured by the Bethlehem Iron Company in Pittsburgh, it weighed 89,320 pounds (40,510 kg), accompanied by two 16-foot-diameter cast-iron spiders weighing 53,031 pounds (24,054 kg). The wheel featured 36 passenger cars, outfitted with 40 revolving seats for a total capacity of 2,160.

The inaugural test run was set for June 9, 1893, enticing great enthusiasm and anxiety. Steam boilers powered the engine that propelled the wheel's massive rotation mechanism. Observers were in awe of the wheel's grandeur, as one remark from Julian Hawthorne highlighted its seemingly fragile structure. Ferris derived inspiration from a waterwheel near his childhood home and the design principles of a bicycle wheel. The new engineering marvel was a first of its kind, demonstrating a massive wheel that turned smoothly without structural failure.

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During its first run, there were no passenger cars attached. Workers climbed aboard the structure, celebrated by cheers from the fair staff who gathered for this momentous occasion. Following a successful initial rotation, Gronau expressed immense satisfaction, stating, "I could have yelled out loud for joy.”

The wheel's construction incurred a cost of $385,000.

Operation

The Ferris Wheel permitted riders 20 minutes to enjoy two rotations - the first featuring six stops for passengers to enter and exit, while the second was a non-stop, nine-minute spin, priced at 50 cents (equivalent to $16.96 today).

As the centerpiece of the World's Columbian Exposition, the Ferris Wheel first opened its doors to the public on June 21, 1893, continuing operations until the fair's conclusion in October.

About 1.5 million individuals rode the wheel, resulting in profits of $395,000.

After the Columbian Exposition

The wheel officially closed in April 1894, then was dismantled and preserved until its reconstruction in Lincoln Park, Chicago. This amusement park now lies where a McDonald’s and a high-rise building reside. Though it initially aimed to host a beer garden and vaudeville shows, necessary licenses were not granted. Local resident William D. Boyce attempted to remove the wheel through legal action unsuccessfully.

In 1895, the Lumiere Brothers filmed an early depiction of the Ferris Wheel at Clark and Wrightwood avenues.

The wheel operated at Clark Street until it was auctioned to the Chicago House Wrecking Company in 1903 for $8,150 (equivalent to $276,380 today).

Subsequently, it was taken apart and transported to St. Louis for the World's Fair, where it reportedly garnered $215,000 (approximately $7,290,890 in today’s currency).

Demolition and disposition

Post closure of the World's Fair on December 1, 1904, no buyers surfaced willing to fund the wheel's relocation. Ultimately, it was successfully demolished using dynamite on May 11, 1906, as stipulated by the contract that mandated the “restoration of Forest Park.”

A 1915 magnetic survey indicated a long, buried steel object—which many believed to be the wheel's axle—around 200 feet from the demolition site, though it remains unexcavated.

Research also alludes that the axle returned to Chicago, where it was eventually scrapped in the early stages of World War I, following improved oxy-acetylene torch technology.

Lasting legacy

Despite the original Ferris Wheel's dismantling, a new wheel persists in Chicago at Navy Pier, closely resembling Ferris’s initial design. It offers participants the same enjoyment of a 10-20 minute ride in enclosed carts at a comparable height to the original structure.

This new iteration, the Centennial Wheel, features enclosed cars with a capacity for six passengers, echoing the original Chicago Ferris Wheel's charm.

In popular culture

• The protagonist in Robert Lawson's children's book, The Great Wheel, is a member of the construction crew for the original Chicago Ferris Wheel.
• The feature film Meet Me in St. Louis includes scenes where characters visit the Fair and foreshadow the wheel's eventual disassembly.
• A blurred image of the Ferris Wheel appears on the cover of the debut album by My Chemical Romance, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.
• The picture book, Mr. Ferris and His Wheel, narrates the fascinating journey of its creation.