Ferris wheel
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A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules, or pods) attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, they are kept upright, usually by gravity. Some of the largest modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on the outside of the rim, with electric motors to independently rotate each car to keep it upright.
The original Ferris Wheel was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; although much smaller wooden wheels of similar idea predate Ferris's wheel, dating perhaps to the 1500s. The generic term "Ferris wheel", now used in American English for all such structures, has become the very common type of amusement ride at amusement parks, state fairs, and other fairs or carnivals in the United States.<ref name=stillturning>Template:Cite web</ref>
The tallest Ferris wheel is the Template:Convert Ain Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which opened in October 2021.
Terminology and design
[edit]The term Ferris wheel comes from the maker of one of the first examples constructed for Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. in 1893.
Modern versions have been called observation wheels.<ref>MSN Encarta – Ferris Wheel Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1892, when the incorporation papers for the Ferris Wheel Company (constructors of the original 1893 Chicago Ferris Wheel) were filed, the purpose of the company was stated as: [construction and operation of] "wheels of the Ferris or other types for the purpose of observation or amusement".<ref name="Anderson" />
Design variations include single- (cantilevered) or twin-sided support for the wheel, and whether the cars or capsules are oriented upright by gravity or by electric motors. The most prevalent design is the use of twin-sided support and gravity-oriented capsules.
Early history
[edit]| Early pleasure wheels depicted in 17th-century engravings, to the left by Adam Olearius, to the right a Turkish design, apparently for adults | |
"Pleasure wheels", whose passengers rode in chairs suspended from large wooden rings turned by strong men, may have originated in 17th-century Bulgaria.<ref name=stillturning /><ref name="eyes in the sky">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia, 1608–1667<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> describes and illustrates "severall Sorts of Swinginge used in their Publique rejoyceings att their Feast of Biram" on 17 May 1620 at Philippopolis (now Plovdiv) in the Ottoman Balkans.<ref name="eyes in the sky" /> Among means "lesse dangerous and troublesome" was one: Template:Blockquote
Five years earlier, in 1615, Pietro Della Valle, a Roman traveller who sent letters from Constantinople, Persia, and India, attended a Ramadan festival in Constantinople. He describes the fireworks, floats, and great swings, then comments on riding the Great Wheel:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Similar wheels also appeared in England in the 17th century, and subsequently elsewhere around the world, including India, Romania, and Siberia.<ref name="eyes in the sky" />
A Frenchman, Antonio Manguino, introduced the idea to America in 1848, when he constructed a wooden pleasure wheel to attract visitors to his start-up fair in Walton Spring, Georgia.
Somers' Wheel
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In 1892, William Somers installed three fifty-foot wooden wheels at Asbury Park, New Jersey; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Coney Island, New York. The following year he was granted the first U.S. patent for a "Roundabout".<ref>explorepahistory.com – Ferris Wheel Inventor Historical Marker Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="patents">Template:Cite web</ref> George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. rode on Somers' wheel in Atlantic City prior to designing his wheel for the World's Columbian Exposition. In 1893 Somers filed a lawsuit against Ferris for patent infringement; however, Ferris and his lawyers successfully argued that the Ferris Wheel and its technology differed greatly from Somers' wheel, and the case was dismissed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The original Ferris Wheel
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The original Ferris wheel, sometimes referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was designed and constructed by Ferris Jr. and opened in 1893; however, an earlier wheel was created for the New York State fair in 1854, created by two Erie Canal workers.<ref name="WDL">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Anderson">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Meehan">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
With a height of Template:Convert, it was the tallest attraction at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, where it opened to the public on June 21, 1893.<ref name="WDL" /> It was intended to rival the Template:Convert Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition.
Ferris was a 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.
The wheel rotated on a 71-ton, Template:Convert axle comprising what was at that time the world's largest hollow forging, manufactured in Pittsburgh by the Bethlehem Iron Company and weighing Template:Convert, together with two Template:Convert cast-iron spiders weighing Template:Convert.<ref name="Meehan" />
There were 36 cars, each fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, giving a total capacity of 2,160.<ref name="Anderson" /> The wheel carried some 38,000 passengers daily<ref name=stillturning /> and took 20 minutes to complete two revolutions, the first involving six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter and the second a nine-minute non-stop rotation, for which the ticket holder paid 50 cents.
The Exposition ended in October 1893, and the wheel closed in April 1894 and was dismantled and stored until the following year. It was then rebuilt on Chicago's North Side, near the high-income enclave of Lincoln Park. William D. Boyce, then a local resident, filed a Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel to have it removed, but without success. It operated there from October 1895 until 1903, when it was again dismantled, then transported by rail to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair and finally destroyed by controlled demolition using dynamite on May 11, 1906.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Antique Ferris wheels
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The Wiener Riesenrad (German for "Viennese Giant Wheel") is a surviving example of 19th-century Ferris wheels. Erected in 1897 in the Wurstelprater section of Prater public park in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna, Austria, to celebrate Emperor Franz Josef I's Golden Jubilee, it has a height of Template:Convert<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and originally had 30 passenger cars. A demolition permit for the Riesenrad was issued in 1916, but due to a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, it survived.<ref name="wienerriesenradhistory">Template:Cite web</ref>
Following the demolition of the Template:Convert Grande Roue de Paris in 1920,<ref name="Anderson" /><ref name="worldfairs">Template:Cite web</ref> the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel. In 1944 it burnt down, but was rebuilt the following year<ref name="wienerriesenradhistory" /> with 15 passenger cars, and remained the world's tallest extant wheel until its 97th year, when the Template:Convert Technocosmos was constructed for Expo '85, at Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Still in operation today, it is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, and over the years has featured in numerous films (including Madame Solange d`Atalide (1914),<ref name="wienerriesenradhistory" /> Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), The Third Man (1949), The Living Daylights (1987), Before Sunrise (1995) and novels.
World's tallest Ferris wheels
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Chronology of world's tallest wheelsTemplate:Anchor
- 1893: the original Ferris Wheel was Template:Convert tall. Built for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, it was moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904 for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and demolished there in 1906.
- 1895: the Great Wheel was built for the Empire of India Exhibition at Earls Court, London, UK, and was Template:Convert tall.<ref name="ehp">Template:Cite web</ref> Construction began in March 1894<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and it opened to the public on July 17, 1895.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It stayed in service until 1906 and was demolished in 1907, having carried over 2.5 million passengers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 1900: the Grande Roue de Paris was built for the Exposition Universelle, a world's fair held in Paris, France. It was demolished in 1920,<ref name="Anderson" /> but its Template:Convert height was not surpassed until almost 90 years after its construction.<ref name="worldfairs"/>
- 1920: the Wiener Riesenrad was built to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I, at the entrance of the Wurstelprater amusement park in Austria's capital Vienna. Constructed in 1897, when the Grande Roue de Paris was demolished in 1920, the Riesenrad became the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel with Template:Convert, and it remained so for the next 65 years until 1985, its 97th year.
- 1985: Technocosmos, later renamed Technostar, was an 85-metre (279 ft) tall giant Ferris wheel, originally built for the Expo 85 World Fair in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. Work began on dismantling Technostar in November 2009.
- 1989: the Cosmo Clock 21 was built for the YES '89 Yokohama Exposition at Minato Mirai 21, Yokohama, Japan. Originally constructed with a height of Template:Convert,<ref name="senyo89">Template:Cite web</ref> it was dismantled in 1997 and then in 1999 relocated onto a taller base which increased its overall height to Template:Convert.<ref name="senyo99">Template:Cite web</ref>
- 1992: Igosu 108 at Biwako Tower, Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan, opened April 26 at Template:Convert tall, hence its name. It has since been moved to Vietnam, where it opened as the Sun Wheel on a new base, now totaling Template:Convert tall.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>
- 1997: the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, in Osaka, Japan, opened to the public on July 13, and is Template:Convert tall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 1999: the Daikanransha at Palette Town in Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan, is Template:Convert tall.<ref name="daikanransha" />
- 2000: the London Eye, in London, United Kingdom, is Template:Convert tall. Although officially opened on December 31, 1999, it did not open to the public until March 2000, because of technical problems.
- 2006: the Star of Nanchang, in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, opened for business in May and is Template:Convert tall.
- 2008: the Singapore Flyer, in Singapore, is Template:Convert tall. It started rotating on February 11, and officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008.
- 2014: the High Roller, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, is Template:Convert tall. It opened to the public on March 31, 2014.<ref name="Trejos">Template:Cite web</ref>
- 2021: the Ain Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is Template:Convert. It opened to the public on October 21, 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
TimelineTemplate:Anchor
ImageSize = width:850 height:258 PlotArea = left:180 bottom:99 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1890 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:tallestever value:blue legend:world's tallest ever at time of completion id:tallestextant1 value:pink legend:world's tallest extant 1920–1985 id:tallestextant2 value:green legend:world's tallest extant 1985–1989
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1
ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1890 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1891
BarData =
bar:Ain text:"Ain Dubai - 250 m" bar:High text:"High Roller - 167.6 m" bar:Singapore text:"Singapore Flyer - 165 m" bar:Star text:"Star of Nanchang - 160 m" bar:London text: "London Eye - 135 m" bar:Daikanransha text:"Daikanransha - 115 m" bar:Tempozan text:"Tempozan Ferris Wheel - 112.5 m" bar:Igosu text:"Igosu 108 - 108 m" bar:Cosmo text:"Cosmo Clock 21 - 107.5 m" bar:Grande text:"Grande Roue de Paris - 96 m" bar:Great text:"Great Wheel - 94 m" bar:Techno text:"Technostar - 85 m" bar:Ferris text:"the original Ferris Wheel - 80.4 m" bar:Wiener text:"Wiener Riesenrad - 64.75 m"
PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Ain from:21/10/2021 till:end color:tallestever bar:High from:31/03/2014 till:end color:tallestever bar:Singapore from:01/03/2008 till:end color:tallestever bar:Star from:01/03/2006 till:end color:tallestever bar:London from:09/03/2000 till:end color:tallestever bar:Daikanransha from:19/03/1999 till:end color:tallestever bar:Tempozan from:12/07/1997 till:end color:tallestever bar:Igosu from:26/04/1992 till:01/09/2013 color:tallestever bar:Cosmo from:25/03/1989 till:end color:tallestever bar:Grande from:01/01/1900 till:01/01/1920 color:tallestever bar:Great from:07/07/1895 till:01/01/1907 color:tallestever bar:Techno from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/2009 color:tallestextant2 bar:Ferris from:21/06/1893 till:01/01/1906 color:tallestever bar:Wiener from:01/01/1897 till:end color:tallestextant1</timeline>
Future wheels
[edit]Following the success of the Template:Convert London Eye since it opened in 2000, giant Ferris wheels have been proposed for many other cities; however, a large number of these projects have stalled or failed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Construction in progress
[edit]- Isfahan Eye, a Template:Convert Ferris wheel in Mount Soffeh, Iran, under development by the city's municipality. It will be built with a financed 1000 billion toman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Template:Convert Nanjing OCT Funland Ferris Wheel has passed national inspections in early 2023 and is about to open to the public.<ref name=欢乐滨江>Template:Cite web</ref>
Abandoned projects
[edit]- The Skyvue Las Vegas Super Wheel<ref name="skyvuepressrelease">Template:Cite press release</ref> (or SkyVue—the official website uses both<ref name="skyvuelasvegas">skyvuelasvegas.com Template:Webarchive</ref>) was announced as being Template:Convert tall,<ref name="msn17092011">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="denverpost16112011" /> and later reported as Template:Convert<ref name="skyvuelasvegas" /> and Template:Convert.<ref name=eastday>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=heraldsun1226436835127>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="lasvegassun20120522">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="prnewswire152574305">Template:Cite press release</ref> It was approved by Clark County Commission in March 2011,<ref name="vegasinc2011may23">Template:Cite web</ref> and announced at a groundbreaking ceremony in May 2011 that "We expect it to be up and running in time for New Year's 2012".<ref name="msn17092011" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The completion date for its construction on the Las Vegas Strip was subsequently put back several times.<ref name=LVRJ>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, construction had stalled. The project was eventually canceled due to lack of funding and the property was put up for sale in 2020, and again in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- The Template:Convert<ref name=nycedcproject /><ref name=nyunews20121003>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=smh20120928>Template:Cite web</ref> New York Wheel was first reported in June 2012 and officially announced by mayor Michael Bloomberg in September 2012.<ref name=nyunews20121003 /> Construction at Staten Island, New York City, alongside the planned Empire Outlets retail complex,<ref name=nycedcproject /> was originally planned to begin early in 2014,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bloomberg20120927">Template:Cite web</ref> and completion was originally expected to be in 2015.<ref name=smh20120928 /><ref name=bloomberg20120927 /> In October 2014 it was reported that construction would not begin until 2015, with completion delayed until 2017.<ref name=washingtontimes20141016>Template:Cite web</ref> This was subsequently further pushed back to April 2018, and then delayed indefinitely after developer NY Wheel fired lead contractor Mammoet-Starneth LLC in July 2017 amid a legal dispute over missed design and construction deadlines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2018, the developers of the New York Wheel were given a last chance to obtain funding for the project. As per a ruling in Delaware bankruptcy court, the developers had 120 days, or until September 5, to find funding; however, on September 7, 2018, it was announced that the New York Wheel would not receive $140 million in city funding.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NY1 2018">Template:Cite web</ref> The delays caused concern among EB-5 visa investors, who would lose their visas if the project was not constructed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NY1 2018"/> An amendment to the bankruptcy court's ruling gave the developers a final 120-day extension to look for funding. If the developers did not get funding by January 2019, the project would be canceled and no further funding extensions would be given.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On September 21, 2018, mayor Bill de Blasio said that the now-$900-million project would not receive a bailout from the city because it was too risky to support the project with bonds. As such, the city would not support tax free status for a $380 million bond sale to complete the project.<ref name="Grant 2018" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Investors refused to proceed with construction without city support, and stated that it would allow the parts for the Ferris wheel to be auctioned off if the city did not provide funding.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Subsequently, investors decided to cancel the project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At this point, investors had spent $450 million on the project.<ref name="Grant 2018">Template:Cite web</ref>
Quiescent proposals
[edit]Incomplete, delayed, stalled, cancelled, failed, or abandoned proposals:
- Template:AnchorThe Template:Convert Moscow View, proposed in 2011, was to have featured 48 monorail-mounted passenger capsules, each able to carry 48 passengers, travelling around a centreless non-rotating rim. At that time the timeframe for its construction was unknown and its site within Moscow had yet to be selected,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> though candidates were said to include the All-Russia Exhibition Centre, Gorky Park, Prospekt Vernadskogo, and Sparrow Hills.Template:Citation needed In December 2011 the project was reported to be stalled due to lack of City Hall approval.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Template:Convert Beijing Great Wheel was originally due to begin construction in 2007 and to open in 2008,<ref name="afpbeijing08">Template:Cite web</ref> but went into receivership in 2010.<ref name="finanznachrichten">Template:Cite web</ref> It was one of at least five Great Wheel Corporation giant Ferris wheel projects which failed between 2007 and 2010.
- Template:AnchorThe Template:Convert Baghdad Eye was proposed for Baghdad, Iraq, in August 2008. At that time, three possible locations had been identified, but no estimates of cost or completion date were given.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Iraq Looking To Build Giant Observation Wheel In Baghdad To Promote Tourism Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Wikinews: Iraq plans 'Baghdad Eye' to draw in tourists</ref> In October 2008, it was reported that Al-Zawraa Park was expected to be the site,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a Template:Convert wheel was installed there in March 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Template:Convert Great Dubai Wheel proposed for Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was granted planning permission in 2006 and expected to open in 2009,<ref name="GreatDubai">Template:Cite web</ref> but it was subsequently confirmed that it would not be built.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was one of at least five Great Wheel Corporation giant Ferris wheel projects which failed between 2007 and 2010.
- Template:AnchorThe Template:Convert Voyager<ref>Voyager Entertainment International, Inc. Template:Webarchive</ref> was proposed several times for Las Vegas, Nevada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:AnchorThe Template:Convert Bangkok Eye, to be located near the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand, was announced by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on October 13, 2010, at which time the actual site and means of funding the 30-billion baht project had yet to be determined.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Template:Convert Great Berlin Wheel was originally planned to open in 2008 but the project encountered financial obstacles.<ref name="ss4751298">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> It was one of at least five Great Wheel Corporation giant Ferris wheel projects which failed between 2007 and 2010.
- Template:AnchorThe Template:Convert Jeddah Eye was proposed in 2008, as part of a development scheduled to open in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Construction was to have begun in 2009,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but there were no subsequent announcements. It was one of at least five Great Wheel Corporation giant Ferris wheel projects which failed between 2007 and 2010.
- A Template:Convert Ferris wheel project involving Tussauds was considered for New York City's South Street Seaport in 2004, but was never built.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Template:Convert Great Orlando Wheel was announced in June 2008<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but then suspended in early 2009 after losing its funding.<ref name="ss4751298" /> It was one of at least five Great Wheel Corporation giant Ferris wheel projects which failed between 2007 and 2010.
- The Template:Convert Kolkata Eye<ref name=indiatoday363524>Template:Cite web</ref> was first proposed in 2011 for construction on the banks of Hooghly River in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Favoured by Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, the project was originally valued at 100 crore rupees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This had risen to 300 crore rupees by May 2014 when Banerjee tweeted Template:Nowrap is expected to be ready in a year's time".<ref name=indiatoday363524 /> In January 2015 The Times of India reported that the project was "still a pipe dream".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- A Template:Convert wheel for Manchester, England, was proposed by Manchester City Council in 2010 as a replacement for the transportable Template:Convert Wheel of Manchester installation, with Piccadilly Gardens the possible site and completion expected by Christmas 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Template:AnchorTemplate:AnchorThe Template:Convert Eye on Malaysia, a Chinese-manufactured wheel with 54 passenger gondolas, was scheduled to begin operating in April 2013 at Malacca Island, Malaysia. In November 2012, Chief Minister of the state of Malacca Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam stated that the installation of piles had brought the RM40 million wheel to 15 per cent of completion, and that "the installation of the wheel structure will begin in February [2013]."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mohd Ali Rustam had previously announced the Malaysia Eye, which conflicting reports stated would be Template:Convert<ref name=thestar2011>Template:Cite web</ref> or Template:Convert<ref name=nstmalacca>Template:Cite web</ref> tall, also to be sourced from China and located at Malacca Island, and to have 54 air-conditioned gondolas, each able to carry six people. It was scheduled to open on December 1, 2011,<ref name=nstmalacca /> but was never built.
- A Template:Convert wheel planned for Manchester, England, for 2008,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> was never constructed.
- The Template:Convert Pepsi Globe was proposed for the planned Meadowlands complex in New Jersey in February 2008 and originally due to open in 2009, then put on hold until 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It has since been further delayed, and construction of the host complex, originally due to be completed in 2007, has been stalled since 2009 due to financing problems.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:AnchorNippon Moon, described as a "giant observation wheel" by its designers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was reported in September 2013 to be "currently in development". At that time, its height was "currently undisclosed", but "almost twice the scale of the wheel in London". Its location, an unspecified Japanese city, was "currently under wraps", and its funding had "yet to be entirely secured". Commissioned by Ferris Wheel Investment Co., Ltd., and designed by UNStudio in collaboration with Arup, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Experientia, it was expected to have 32 individually themed capsules and take 40 minutes to rotate once.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Template:AnchorTemplate:AnchorThe Shanghai Star, initially planned as a Template:Convert tall wheel to be built by 2005, was revised to Template:Convert, with a completion date set in 2007, but then cancelled in 2006 due to "political incorrectness".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An earlier proposal for a Template:Convert structure, the Shanghai Kiss, with capsules ascending and descending a pair of towers which met at their peaks instead of a wheel, was deemed too expensive at £100m.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:AnchorRus-3000, a Template:Convert wheel planned to open in 2004 in Moscow,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> has since been reported cancelled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Subsequently, an approximately Template:Convert<ref>Moscow News – Local – Bringing back the big wheel Template:Webarchive</ref> wheel was considered for Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a Template:Convert wheel proposed for location near Sparrow Hills.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another giant wheel planned for Prospekt Vernadskogo for 2002 was also never built.Template:Citation needed
Variants
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Indoor Ferris wheels
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At some malls and amusement parks indoor Ferris wheels were realized. The largest of its kind has a diameter of Template:Convert and is situated in the Template:Convert high Alem Cultural and Entertainment Center in Ashgabat.
Motorised capsules
[edit]| Template:Center | |
| Template:Center | |
Wheels with passenger cars mounted external to the rim and independently rotated by electric motors, as opposed to wheels with cars suspended from the rim and kept upright by gravity, are uncommon. Typically they are called 'Observation wheels' but there is no standardised terminology.
Only a few Ferris wheels with motorised capsules have been built.
- The Template:Convert Bay Glory is China's first giant observation wheel with motorised capsules.
- The Template:Convert Ain Dubai, world's current tallest observation wheel.
- The Template:Convert High Roller, world's tallest from 2014 to 2021, has externally mounted motorised capsules of a transparent spherical design,<ref name="denverpost16112011">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is described as both a Ferris wheel and an observation wheel by the media.<ref name="msn17092011" /><ref name="denverpost16112011" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Template:Convert Singapore Flyer has cylindrical externally mounted motorised capsules and is described as an observation wheel by its operators,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but was also credited as "world's largest Ferris wheel" by the media when it opened in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- The Template:Convert London Eye, typically described as a "giant Ferris wheel" by the media,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> has ovoidal externally mounted motorised capsules and is the "world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel"<ref name="londoneye102">Template:Cite web</ref> according to its operator.
- The Template:Convert Melbourne Star (previously the Southern Star) in Australia has ovoidal externally mounted motorised capsules and is described by its operators as "the only observation wheel in the southern hemisphere",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but also as a Ferris wheel by the media.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- The Template:Convert Nanjing OCT Funland Ferris Wheel is China's second giant observation wheel with motorised capsules which has passed national inspections in early 2023 and is about to open to the public.<ref name=欢乐滨江 />
Official conceptual renderings<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> of the proposed Template:Convert New York Wheel also show a wheel equipped with externally mounted motorised capsules.<ref name=nycedcproject>Template:Cite web</ref>
Centreless wheels
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In the centreless (sometimes called hubless or spokeless) wheel design, there is no central hub and the rim of the wheel stays fixed in place. Instead, each car travels around the circumference of the rim. The first centreless wheel built was the Big O at Tokyo Dome City in Japan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its Template:Convert height has since been surpassed by the Template:Convert high Bailang River Bridge Ferris Wheel on the upper deck of the Bailang River Bridge in Shandong Province, China, which opened in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The first centreless wheel in North America opened in January 2019 at the indoor Méga Parc in Quebec City, Canada.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Template:Convert wheel at Méga Parc was designed and manufactured by Larson International.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Transportable wheels
[edit]Transportable Ferris wheels are designed to be operated at multiple locations, as opposed to fixed wheels which are usually intended for permanent installation. Small transportable designs may be permanently mounted on trailers, and can be moved intact. Larger transportable wheels are designed to be repeatedly dismantled and rebuilt, some using water ballast instead of the permanent foundations of their fixed counterparts. Larger transportable wheels were designed with a self erecting mechanism in the absence of mobile cranes reaching high enough since 1958 in Europe. Spokes must be stiff being able to carry their own weight for assembling the wheel without auxiliary scaffolding.Template:Fact
Fixed wheels are also sometimes dismantled and relocated. Larger examples include the original Ferris Wheel, which operated at two sites in Chicago, Illinois, and a third in St. Louis, Missouri; Technocosmos/Technostar, which moved to Expoland, Osaka, after Expo '85, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, for which it was built, ended; and Cosmo Clock 21, which added Template:Convert onto its original Template:Convert height when erected for the second time at Minato Mirai 21, Yokohama, in 1999.
The world's tallest transportable wheel Template:As of is the Template:Convert Bussink Design R80XL.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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One of the most famous transportable wheels is the Template:Convert Roue de Paris, originally installed on the Place de la Concorde in Paris for the 2000 millennium celebrations. Roue de Paris left France in 2002 and in 2003–04 operated in Birmingham and Manchester, England. In 2005 it visited first Geleen then Amsterdam, Netherlands, before returning to England to operate at Gateshead. In 2006 it was erected at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar in Bangkok, Thailand, and by 2008 had made its way to Antwerp, Belgium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Roue de Paris is a Ronald Bussink series R60 design using Template:Convert of water ballast to provide a stable base. The R60 weighs Template:Convert, and can be erected in 72 hours and dismantled in 60 hours by a specialist team. Transport requires seven 20-foot container lorries, ten open trailer lorries, and one closed trailer lorry. Its 42-passenger cars can be loaded either 3 or 6 at a time, and each car can carry 8 people.<ref name="RDPtechnical">Template:Cite web</ref> Bussink R60 wheels have operated in Australia (Brisbane), Canada (Niagara Falls), France (Paris), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur & Malacca), México (Puebla), UK (Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield), US (Atlanta, Myrtle Beach), and elsewhere.
Other notable transportable wheels include the Template:Convert Steiger Ferris Wheel, which was the world's tallest transportable wheel when it began operating in 1980.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It has 42 passenger cars,<ref name="techdata">Template:Cite web</ref> and weighs 450 tons.<ref name="city">Template:Cite news</ref> On October 11, 2010, it collapsed at the Kramermarkt in Oldenburg, Germany, during deconstruction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Double and triple wheels
[edit]A double Ferris wheel designed to include a horizontal turntable was patented in 1939 by John F. Courtney, working for Velare & Courtney. In Courtney's design, there were two independent Ferris wheels, each rotating at either end of a cantilever arm. The cantilever arm was supported in the middle by a tall vertical support, and the cantilever arm itself rotated around its middle pivot point.<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref> The design was similar to the earlier Aeriocycle, but the double wheel patented by Courtney allowed the cantilever arm to make a complete rotation, while the Aeriocycle was limited to a seesaw motion.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Courtney continued to file additional patents on improved designs through the 1950s to make them more portable,<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref><ref>Template:Cite patent</ref> and at about the same time, the Velare brothers patented the "Space Wheel", a side-by-side double with four total Ferris wheels.<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref>
The design was later sold to the Allan Herschell Company in 1959 and marketed as the "Sky Wheel"; the first sale as the Sky Wheel was to 20th Century Rides in October 1960.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Sky Wheel seated up to 32 riders in 16 two-person cars, with 8 cars per wheel, and riders reached a peak of approximately Template:Convert. The height and popularity of the Sky Wheel was eclipsed by larger single wheels in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it has since largely disappeared from common use.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, there are four known Sky Wheels that remain in operation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In March 1966, Thomas Glen Robinson and Ralph G. Robinson received a patent for a Planetary Amusement Ride, which was a distinct double wheel design. In the Robinsons' patent, the cantilever arm was bent at a slightly obtuse angle, and the cars were carried on a spoked "spider" rotating structure at each end of the cantilever. With the obtuse-angle cantilever, one spider could be lowered to the ground in a horizontal plane so that all the cars on that spider could be unloaded and loaded simultaneously, while the spider on the other end of the cantilever would continue to rotate in a near-vertical plane.<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Robinson sold two of these rides – Astrowheel, which operated at the former Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Galaxy, which operated at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Both were manufactured by Astron International Corporation.Template:Citation needed<ref name=Parkives-160414>Template:Cite web</ref> Astrowheel was part of the original lineup of rides when Astroworld opened in 1968;<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> it was removed in 1981 to make way for the Warp 10 ride.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Astrowheel had an eight-spoked spider at the end of each arm, and each tip had a separate car for eight cars in total on each end.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In contrast, Galaxy had double the capacity with a four-spoked spider at the end of each arm; each tip bore an independent four-spoked sub-spider for sixteen cars in total on each end. Like Astrowheel, Galaxy was part of the lineup at Magic Mountain when the park opened in 1971, and was removed in 1980 when Six Flags took over ownership of both parks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Giant Wheel, a Waagner-Biro/Intamin double wheel
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Abandoned Scorpion at Parque de la Ciudad (2015)
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Swiss broker Intamin marketed a similar series of double wheels manufactured by Waagner-Biro, comprising a vertical column supporting a straight cantilever arm, with each end of the cantilever arm ending in a spoked Ferris wheel. The first Intamin produced was Giant Wheel at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which operated from 1973 to 2004.<ref name=Parkives-160414/> Other double wheels made by Waagner-Biro/Intamin include Zodiac (Kings Island, Mason, Ohio; 1975–86;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> moved to Wonderland Sydney and operated 1989–2004), Scorpion (Parque de la Ciudad, Buenos Aires, Argentina; 1982–2003), and Double Wheel (Kuwait Entertainment City, Kuwait City, Kuwait; 1984–91).<ref name=AP-doubletriple>Template:Cite web</ref>
A triple variant was custom designed for the Marriott Corporation and debuted at both Marriott's Great America parks (now Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois, and California's Great America, Santa Clara) in 1976 as Sky Whirl. Each ride had three main components: the three spiders/wheels with their passenger cars; the triple-spoked supporting arm; and the single central supporting column. Each wheel rotated about one of the three ends of the supporting arm. The supporting arm would in turn rotate around its central hub as a single unit about the top of the supporting column. The axis about which the supporting arm turned was offset from vertical (i.e., the plane of rotation was not horizontal), so that as the supporting arm rotated, each wheel was raised and lowered. When lowered, one wheel was horizontal at ground level. At the same time, the other wheels remained raised and continued to rotate in a near-vertical plane at considerable height. The lowered horizontal wheel was brought to a standstill for simultaneous loading and unloading of all its passenger cars.<ref name=GAP-sky-whirl>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Sky Whirl was also known as a triple Ferris wheel,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Triple Giant Wheel,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or Triple Tree Wheel; it was Template:Convert in height.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Sky Whirl in Santa Clara was filmed for a memorable rescue scene in Beverly Hills Cop III (renamed to "The Spider" for the film).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Santa Clara ride, renamed Triple Wheel in post-Marriott years, closed on September 1, 1997. The Gurnee ride closed in 2000.<ref name=GAP-sky-whirl/> Two triple wheels were built for Asian clients: Tree Triple Wheel at Seibu-en (Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan; 1985–2004) and Hydra at Lotte World (Seoul, South Korea; 1989–97).<ref name=AP-doubletriple/>
Eccentric wheels
[edit]An eccentric wheel (sometimes called a sliding wheel<ref name="originald">Template:Cite web</ref> or coaster wheel<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) differs from a conventional Ferris wheel in that some or all of its passenger cars are not fixed directly to the rim of the wheel, but instead slide on rails between the rim and the hub as the wheel rotates.
The two most famous eccentric wheels are Wonder Wheel, at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, Coney Island, US, and Pixar Pal-A-Round (previously Sun Wheel and Mickey's Fun Wheel), at Disney California Adventure, US. The latter is a replica of the former. There is a second replica in Yokohama Dreamland, Japan.<ref name="wwhistory" />
Pixar Pal-A-Round is Template:Convert tall<ref name="originald" /> and has 24 fully enclosed passenger cars, each able to carry six passengers. Each passenger car is decorated with the face of a Pixar character. Sixteen slide inward and outward as the wheel rotates, the remainder are fixed to the rim. There are separate boarding queues for sliding and fixed cars, so that passengers may choose between the two.<ref name="allears">Template:Cite web</ref> Inspired by Coney Island's 1920 Wonder Wheel, it was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and Waagner Biro, completed in 2001 as the Sun Wheel, later refurbished and reopened in 2009 as Mickey's Fun Wheel, and again rethemed as Pixar Pal-A-Round in 2018.<ref name="originald" />
Wonder Wheel was built in 1920, is Template:Convert tall, and can carry 144 people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Hermann Eccentric Ferris Wheel with sliding cars, from US patent 1354436, 1915; forerunner of the 1920 Wonder Wheel, there is no record of it ever being built<ref name="patents" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Wonder Wheel, a Template:Convert tall eccentric wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, Coney Island, was built in 1920 by the Eccentric Ferris Wheel Company<ref name="wwhistory">Template:Cite web</ref>
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Disney California Adventure's Pixar Pal-A-Round, an eccentric wheel modelled on Wonder Wheel, was built in 2001 as Sun Wheel and became Mickey's Fun Wheel in 2009 and currently Pixar Pal-A-Round in 2018<ref name="allears" />
Gallery of notable wheels
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The London Eye was world's tallest ferris wheel when it opened and is currently the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK
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Cosmo Clock 21, world's tallest wheel 1989 to 1997
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Ruota dei Pionieri, Minitalia Leolandia Park, Italy (manufactured by Zamperla<ref>Zamperla Rides Template:Webarchive</ref>)
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Four-car 30 m tall drive-in Ferris wheel at Harbourfront, Toronto, Canada, in 2004<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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A wheel constructed by the Swedish contingent at the 21st World Scout Jamboree
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Ferris wheel in the Park Divo Ostrov, St. Petersburg
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Ain Dubai, light show of the ferris wheel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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The ferris wheel of Pripyat amusement park, a symbol of the Chernobyl Disaster
Major designers, manufacturers, and operators
[edit]Allan Herschell Company (merged with Chance Rides in 1970)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Seattle Wheel (debuted 1962): 16 cars, two passengers per car<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Sky Wheel (debuted 1939; also manufactured by Chance Rides): a double wheel, with the wheels rotating about opposite ends of a pair of parallel beams, and the beams rotating about their centres; eight cars per wheel, two passengers per car<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Chance Morgan/Chance Rides/Chance Wheels/Chance American Wheels<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name="chancemorganrides">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Astro Wheel (debuted 1967): 16 cars (eight facing one way, eight the other), two passengers per car<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Century Wheel: Template:Convert tall, 15 cars, 4-6 passengers per car<ref name="chancemorganrides" />
- Giant Wheel: Template:Convert tall, 20 cars, 6-8 passengers per car<ref name="chancemorganrides" />Template:Failed verification
- Niagara SkyWheel (2006): Template:Convert tall, 42 air-conditioned cars, eight passengers per car<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Myrtle Beach SkyWheel (2011): Template:Convert tall, 42 air-conditioned cars, 6 passengers per car<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Eli Bridge Company<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Contemporary models include:
- Signature Series: 16 cars, 3 passengers per car; transportable
- Eagle Series: 16 cars, 3 passengers per car; transportable
- HY-5 Series: 12 cars, 3 passengers per car; transportable
- Aristocrat Series: 16 cars, fixed site
- Standard Series: 12 cars, fixed site
- Lil' Wheel: 6 cars, 3 passengers per car; transportable and fixed site models
Great Wheel Corporation<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (merged with World Tourist Attractions in 2009 to form Great City Attractions)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Singapore Flyer: Template:Convert tall, completed 2008; world's tallest 2008 to 2014
- Beijing Great Wheel: Template:Convert tall, was supposed to open in 2008, went into in receivership,<ref name="finanznachrichten" /> never built
- Great Dubai Wheel: Template:Convert tall, planning permission granted in 2006, was supposed to open in 2009,<ref name="GreatDubai" /> never built
- Great Berlin Wheel: Template:Convert tall, was supposed to open in 2008,<ref name="ss4751298" /> never built
- Great Orlando Wheel: Template:Convert tall, project halted in 2009,<ref name="ss4751298" /> never built
Intamin/Waagner-Biro<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Rides brokered by Intamin—manufactured by Waagner-Biro)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Anchor Mir / PaxTemplate:Anchor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Moscow-850, a Template:Convert tall wheel in Russia; Europe's tallest extant wheel when completed in 1997, until 1999
- Eurowheel, a Template:Convert tall wheel in Italy; Europe's tallest extant wheel when completed in 1999, until the end of that year
Ronald Bussink<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (formerly Nauta Bussink; then Ronald Bussink Professional Rides; then Bussink Landmarks since 2008)
- Wheels of Excellence range (sold to Vekoma in 2008) has included:
- R40: Template:Convert tall fixed or transportable wheel, 15 or 30 cars, 8 passengers per car
- R50: Template:Convert tall fixed or transportable wheel, 18 or 36 cars, 8 passengers per car
- R60: Template:Convert tall transportable wheel, 21 or 42 cars, 8 passengers per car<ref name="RDPtechnical" />
- R80: Template:Convert tall fixed wheel, 56 cars, 8 passengers per car
- Bussink Design:
- R80XL: Template:Convert tall fixed or transportable wheel, 27 16-person cars, or 54 8-person cars
Sanoyas Rides Corporation (has built more than 80 Ferris wheels<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)
- Melbourne Star: Template:Convert tall, completed 2008, rebuilt 2009–2013
- Senyo Kogyo Co, Ltd.
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- Cosmo Clock 21: Template:Convert tall, completed 1989; world's tallest 1989 to 1997;<ref name="senyo89" /> Template:Convert tall when re-erected in 1999<ref name="senyo99" />
- Diamond and Flower Ferris Wheel: Template:Convert tall, world's second tallest when completed in 2001<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Tempozan Ferris Wheel: Template:Convert tall, completed 1997; world's tallest 1997 to 1999<ref name="senyo89" />
- World Tourist Attractions / Great City Attractions<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> / Wheels Entertainments<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> / Freij Entertainment International<ref>Freij – FERRIS WHEEL Template:Webarchive</ref>