On this day, the original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, first opened to the public as the centrepiece of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Intended as a keystone attraction similar to that of the 1889 Paris Exposition’s Eiffel Tower, the Ferris Wheel was the Columbian Exposition’s tallest attraction, with a height of 80.4 metres. Conceived by the architect Daniel Burnham and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jnr., the wheel was a feat of engineering excellence and innovation, modelled on the structural principles of a bicycle wheel and powered by a one-thousand-horsepower steam engine. It took 20 minutes to make two revolutions, the first with six stops to allow passengers to get on and off, and the second a nine-minute, non-stop, rotation, for which the passenger paid 50 cents (equivalent to $17.50 in 2024).
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