Ferris Wheels
Has it ever occurred to you have the great Ferris wheel was created and the history behind it? The idea of a turning wheel came centuries before today. There was a be a wheel just like a hamster wheel, a cow would stand in the middle and turn the wheel. There would be buckets attached to the outer rims and as the cow would walk forward the buckets would pick up water and be carried to a man at the top. Before the creation of Ferris wheels, there were pleasure wheels which were thought to have been created by Native Americans. Pleasure wheels could be found in England but their name for pleasure wheels was "ups and downs," the wheel would be hand turned. France also had pleasure wheels these where operated by a man who would climb a ladder to a platform and turn the wheel by hand during the 1860s. As early as 1848 there were pleasure wheels in the United States. A man named Antonio Maguino created pleasure wheels at Walton Spring, Georgia to attract visitors at an amusement park. The passengers to go on the pleasure wheel would sit on large wooden packing crates and the wheel would be turned by the husky men. In the early 1870s Charles U.P. Dare from Brooklyn would manufacture hand power and steam powered pleasure wheels. A hand turned which was twenty-four inches in diameter cost $400 and a stream powered which was thirty inches in diameter cost $600.
In 1893 in Chicago there was going to be a celebration of the 400th year anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovering the U.S. The mayor of Chicago wanted to display something spectacular for the event. A man named George Washington Fale Ferris in October of 1892 wanted to create and observation wheel. The wheels diameter is 250 feet and the wheels is supported by 2, 140 feet towers which were put in 8, 20 feet squared by 35 feet squared deep holes. The wheels consist of 36 cars which can carry up to 40 passengers each. The total amount of riders at one time can be up 1440 people. The framework of the wheel is like of a bicycle wheel. There are 2 pairs of rings linked by large beams. The outer rings is where the 36 cars are located and in the inner rings it connects to the hub which would be the spokes of the wheel. The total cost for building this Ferris wheel cost Ferris $300,000. On Wednesday, June, 21 Mr. and Mrs. Ferris along with the mayor of Chicago, some invited guest, and a 40 piece band which squeezed into 1 car. At that time each ride cost 50¢ for a 20 minute ride. Today at Navy Pier a ride to go on the Ferris wheel costs $6. During the night time the wheel would also run and have 3,000 light bulbs turned on at night. During the 19 weeks the fair was open 1,453,611 people went on the Ferris wheel. After the fair there was no business to keep the wheel going so the wheel was sold to a junk dealer for $1,800. The wheel was sent to the Louisiana purchase Exposition of 1904 but it resulted the same way and was taken down by 500 pounds of dynamite on May 11, 1906.
Over the years the Ferris Wheel has transformed into new creations. In 1901 at the Pan American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo, New York a new ride was created called the Aerio Cycle. The Aerio Cycle looks like a giant see saw and the ends of each one consists a Ferris wheel. Then during the 1920s a 135 foot wheel called the Wonder Wheel came to Coney Island. This wheel has 24 cars each that can hold 4 passengers. 8 cars were attached to the outer rims and 16 were on a curved track inside the wheel. Later on another amusement park ride called the Zipper came out this ride has 12, 2 passenger cages. This ride was a free swing ride meaning the cage with turn in any direction. Many changes have been made from the time of the idea of a moving wheel, to pleasure wheels, to Ferris wheels and now many other rides involving the rotation like a Ferris wheel.