Ferris 4 | Engineering Entertainment Marvel |
T
he original Ferris wheel was designed and constructed by a Pittsburg bridge-builder named George W. Ferris. The impetus was the 1893 World's Fair, held in Chicago. The fair's organizers wanted something spectacular that would rival the Eiffel Tower which had been built for the Paris World's Fair of 1889. Spectacular it was, supported by two 140 foot steel towers, the wheels diameter was 250 feet and its circumference was 825 feet. Smaller more portable variations live-on at state fairs, carnivals and circuses across the land.
“There is nothing in the World's Columbian exposition that compares in genuine novelty and sensationalism with the great vertical wheel which stands in the very center of Midway plaisance.” - Robert Graves
