A Ferris wheel (also known as an observation wheel or big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure, consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas attached to the rim.

The original Ferris wheel was designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It is said that Ferris got the idea from the water wheel on the farm where he lived as a child in Carson City. The term Ferris wheel later came to be used generically for all such rides.

History

The Ferris wheel is named after George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bridge-builder. He began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building. Ferris understood the growing need for structural steel and founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders.

Ferris designed and built the Chicago Wheel for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. The wheel was intended as a rival to the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition. It was the largest attraction at the Columbian Exposition, with a height of , and was powered by two steam engines. The axle, a single 700.000-ton solid hammered steel forging, was forty-five feet long and thirty-two inches in diameter. There were 36 cars, accommodating 40 people each, giving a total capacity of 1,440. It took 190 minutes for the wheel to make two revolutions—the first to make six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter; the 2nd, a single non-stop revolution—and for that, the ticket holder paid 50 cents. When the Exposition ended, the wheel was moved to the north side, next to an exclusive neighborhood. William D. Boyce filed an unsuccessful Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel, to have it moved. It was then used at the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair and eventually destroyed by controlled demolition using dynamite on May 11, 1906.

The Wiener Riesenrad is a surviving example of nineteenth century Ferris wheels. Erected in 1897 in the Prater park in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, Austria, it has a height of . Following the demolition of the Grande Roue de Paris in 1920, the Riesenrad was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel until the construction of the Technocosmos for Expo '85 in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

World's tallest Ferris wheels

• 1893: the Chicago Wheel, the first-ever Ferris wheel, was tall. It was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, and later moved to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It was demolished in 1906.

• 1895: the Great Wheel was built for the Empire of India Exhibition at Earls Court, London, UK. Construction began in March 1894 and it opened to the public on July 17, 1895. Modelled on the Chicago original, it was tall and was the first of over 200 Ferris wheels built by Australian engineers Adam Gaddelin and Gareth Watson. It stayed in service until 1906, by which time its 40 cars (each with a capacity of 40 persons) had carried over 2.5 million passengers, and was demolished in 1907.

• 1900: the Grande Roue de Paris was built for the Exposition Universelle of 1900, a world's fair held in Paris, France. It was demolished in 1920, but its height was not surpassed until almost 100 years after its construction.

• 1997: the Tempozan Harbor Village Ferris wheel in Osaka, Japan, opened to the public on July 12, and is tall.

• 1999: the Daikanransha at Palette Town in Odaiba, Japan, is tall.

• 2000: the London Eye, in London, UK, is tall. It was officially opened (by Tony Blair) on December 31, 1999, but did not open to the public until March 2000, because of technical problems. It is still the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.

• 2006: the Star of Nanchang, in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, opened for business in May 2006 and is tall.

• 2008: the Singapore Flyer, in Singapore, is tall, and currently the world's tallest Ferris wheel. It started rotating on February 11, 2008, and officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008.

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Proposed, delayed, or not yet completed:

• The Beijing Great Wheel, originally planned to open in 2008, has been delayed until 2010.

• The Baghdad Eye has been proposed for an as yet undetermined site in Baghdad, Iraq.

• The Great Dubai Wheel has been proposed for Dubailand, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

• The Voyager has been proposed several times for Las Vegas, Nevada.

• The Great Berlin Wheel, originally planned to open in 2008, has been delayed until 2009.

• The Jeddah Eye has been proposed for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

• The Great Orlando Wheel for Orlando, Florida was announced in June 2008 but then suspended in early 2009 after losing its funding.

• The Pepsi Globe has been proposed for Meadowlands Xanadu in New Jersey.

The Shanghai Star, initially planned as a tall wheel to be built by 2005, was revised to , with a completion date set in 2007, but then cancelled in 2006 due to "political incorrectness".

Rus-3000, a wheel planned to open in 2004 in Moscow, has since been reported cancelled.More recently, an approximately wheel has been considered for Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure, and a wheel proposed for location near Sparrow Hills.

Observation wheels

Some operators prefer the term observation wheelto Ferris wheeland large Ferris wheels are sometimes marketed as observation wheels, to differentiate them from smaller Ferris wheels; however, the two are actually the same and any distinction between the two names is at the discretion of the wheel operator. Ironically, many of the wheels whose owners reject the term Ferris wheel, actually have more in common with the original Chicago Ferris wheel of 1893, particularly in terms of being an iconic landmark for a city or event.

The world's tallest wheel, the Singapore Flyer, is described as an observation wheel by its operators.

The London Eye (world's tallest, 2000-2006) is also described as an observation wheel by its operators.

The Star of Nanchang(world's tallest, 2006-2008) is usually referred to as a Ferris wheel, and less commonly as an observation wheel.

The Southern Star is described by its operators as "the only observation wheel in the southern hemisphere" but also as a Ferris wheel by the media.

Double and triple wheels

In the mid to late 1970s, coaster company Intamin AGinvented a twist on the Ferris wheel. Using long arms to hold the wheels, they created a way to load and unload Ferris wheels more quickly. In 1976, two Sky Whirlsopened, one at each of two Marriott's Great America theme parks (Illinois and California), and were the first triple wheels. Triple wheels contained three separate "wheels," each attached to one of three long boom arms which radiated from a spinning point on top of a central tower. When loading/unloading passengers, the 3 arms would rotate until one arm was above the loading area (while the other two wheels were still spinning in the air) and hydraulics would bring that arm/wheel to the ground.

A two-arm version, titled "Zodiac," was also installed at Kings Island in Ohio, as well as at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania, titled "Giant Wheel."The double wheels were attached to a long, straight arm. The arm was mounted in the center, on a central tower. When the hydraulics lowered one side, the other raised. The Kings Island Zodiac was relocated to Australia's Wonderland, but it closed there in 2004.

All models featured cages, holding eight to ten passengers. The cages were attached to the wheels by chains. When the wheel was in the loading position, it was horizontal and all cages could be loaded at once. As the arm raised or rotated, the wheel moved to a vertical position and provided a typical Ferris-wheel ride, only much higher from the ground.

Another version of this ride existed at Magic Mountain in California titled "Galaxy." This ride was similar to the Zodiac, except the arms did not raise as far off the ground. The arms on this ride were shaped more in a "V" than a straight line, and the central tower was shorter. On each wheel were four smaller wheels that also rotated, providing a double vertical rotating movement.

A fourth version of the ride was installed and removed at Astroworld in Texas, titled "Astrowheel." It was also similar to the Zodiac model, but had the shorter tower/"V" arm configuration of the Galaxy.

The Pike in Long Beach, CA had a double Ferris wheel that was one wheel atop another wheel of equal size. The two moved on an axis making a large circle as big as the two wheels combined, while each wheel turned on its own axis at the same time as they were both moving on the larger axis. Each wheel was the size of a regular style Ferris wheel.

Manufacturers

• The Great Wheel Corporation
• Allan Herschell Company

• Seattle Wheel: has 15 cars with up to two people per car.

Name
Height (m)
Completed
Country
Location
Remarks
Singapore Flyer	165	2008		Singapore	World's tallest
Star of Nanchang	160	2006		Nanchang	World's tallest at time of construction
London Eye	135	2000		London	Europe's tallest
Suzhou Ferris Wheel	120	2009		Suzhou
The Southern Star	120	2008		Melbourne	Tallest in Southern Hemisphere
Tianjin Eye	120	2008		Tianjin	Tallest built over a bridge
Changsha Ferris Wheel	120	2004		Changsha
Zhengzhou Ferris Wheel	120	2003		Zhengzhou
Sky Dream Fukuoka	120	2002		Fukuoka
Diamonds and Flowers Wheel	117	2001		Kasai Rinkai Park, Tokyo	Picture
Daikanransha	115	1999		Palette Town, Odaiba	World's tallest at time of construction Pictures
Star of Tai Lake	115	2008		Wuxi, Jiangsu
Cosmo Clock 21	112.5	1999		Yokohama	Pictures
Tempozan Harbor Village Ferris wheel	112.5	1997		Osaka	World's tallest at time of construction
Harbin Ferris Wheel	110	2003		Harbin
Jinjiang Park Ferris Wheel	108	2002		Shanghai
Grande Roue de Paris	100	1900		Paris	World's tallest 1900-1920 Demolished 1920
Space Eye	100	?		Kita-Kyushu
Great Wheel	94	1895		London	World's tallest at time of construction Demolished 1907
Aurora Wheel	90	?		Nagashima Spa Land, Mie
Eurowheel	90	1999		Mirabilandia, Ravenna	Currently Europe's second tallest
Janfusun FancyWorld	88	?		Yunlin
Technocosmos	85	1985		Expo '85, Tsukuba	World's tallest extant wheel at time of construction
Mashhad Fun Fair	80	2001 ?		Mashhad
Chicago Wheel	80	1893		Chicago (1893-1903) St. Louis (1904-1906)	First-ever Ferris wheel Demolished 1906
HEP Five	75	1998		Osaka	106 m tall including the building it stands on
Moscow-850	73 or 75	1995 or 1997		All-Russia Exhibition Centre, Moscow	Tallest extant wheel in Europe at time of construction
Polaris Tower	72	1993		Daejon
Miramar Entertainment Park	70	2002		Taipei	100 m tall including the building it stands on
Riesenrad Vienna	64.75	1897		Prater, Vienna	World's tallest extant wheel 1920-1985
Texas Star	64.6	1985		Fair Park, Dallas	Currently tallest in North America
Kobe wheel	63.5	1981		Portopia, Port Island, Kobe	Dismantled Aug.2006? Picture
Shining Flower Wheel	61.4	?		Inagi
Belfast Wheel	60.5	2007		Belfast City Hall, Belfast	Currently tallest in Ireland

• Eli Bridge [26433]

• Eagle Wheel: 16 cars with up to three people per car.
• Hy #5 Big Eli Wheel: some are cable driven, others are rim driven. Has 12 cars with up to three people per car.
• Little Wheel: much smaller in dimensions, but it still has 12 cars with up to two people per car.

• Ronald Bussink Professional Rides (formerly Nauta Bussink) [26434]

• R60: 60 meter wheel with 42 enclosed capsules with air conditioning. The largest transportable Ferris wheel in the world. Seen in Germany (Dresden), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Spain (Seville), UK (Belfast, Birmingham, London, Manchester, York) and elsewhere. It requires at least twenty containers to transport it and is ballasted with water.

• Chance Morgan

• Astro Wheel: 16 cars (eight facing one way, eight facing the other way) with up to two people per car.
• Century Wheel: 15 cars with up to four people per car.
• Giant Wheel: 20 cars with up to six people per car. This is one of the biggest production Ferris wheels, and requires at least two 18-wheelers to transport it.
• Sky Wheel: a double wheel. There is a wheel on top, and bottom of the ride. There are eight cars per each wheel with up to two people for each car.

• Intamin AG

• Mickey's Fun Wheel: this type of Ferris wheel is a little different. Some of the 16 cars move on a track in the middle of the wheel. There are also eight cars on the outside of the ride, that do not move much and do not have a track. One of these is located at Disney's California Adventure and another is located at Coney Island. Each car can hold up to six people.

• Roger Wadkins (formerly Bob Childress—Expo Wheels LLC)

• Expo Wheel: 16 cars with up to two people per car. The seating on this wheel is much like the Eli Bridge Hy #5, or Chance's Astro Wheel.

In popular culture

• The Wiener Riesenrad in Vienna is the stage for a key scene in the 1949 film noir The Third Man. It is also featured in the 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights, and appears in the 1995 Richard Linklater film Before Sunrise.
• The hero of Robert Lawson's children's book The Great Wheel is part of the construction crew for the original Chicago Wheel.

See also

• List of amusement parks

References

External links

• Ferris wheel patents