Ferris Wheels / an illustrated history

June 21, 1893 dawned clear in Chicago. By mid-afternoon hundreds of invited guests and curious spectators crowded around a small platform on the Midway Plaisance at the World's Columbian Exposition. Promptly at 3:30 the official party took their places and following the speeches, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. blew a small, golden whistle. The giant observation wheel was officially open to all those who wanted a bird's eye view of the fair and the never-to-be-forgotten thrill of riding the Ferris Wheel. The miracle of engineering Ferris had built in less than six months was 264 feet tall, taller than any building existing at the time, and the 36 cars each held up to 60 passengers. Before the Exposition closed, nearly a million and a half people paid 50 cents for a twenty-minute ride on "The Eighth Wonder of the World." And since then, amusement wheels worldwide that carry people up, over the top, and down, have been called Ferris wheels.