At the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris, the Eiffel Tower was unveiled. The next year in Chicago, a group set plans to outdo the Eiffel Tower with their own spectacle, as Chicago was the location for the next World’s Fair. They did not know that their creation would eventually become an entertainment staple on boardwalks, and at fairs, carnivals, and other amusement parks.
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. was a 33-year-old engineer from Pittsburgh whose company was sent to inspect the steel used in building the fair. He heard their need for an idea, and he came up with a large rotating wheel with seats to carry people to the top. On December 16, 1892, he unveiled his wheel. It was 250 feet in diameter and had 36 cars; each car could hold 60 people.
That following June, the wheel was active, and over 1.4 million people rode it over a span of 19 weeks, each paying 50 cents for a 20-minute ride. When the fair ended, Ferris went bankrupt paying back loans from constructing his wheel, while also waiting for money he earned from fairs. He died not long after, making this the one true “Ferris Wheel.”
In the twentieth century, admirers of his work began to recreate the wheels allowing his legacy to live on throughout the world.