George Ferris Jr. and the Ferris Wheel

 After erecting the Eiffel Tower in Paris at the1889 World’s Fair, Engineer Daniel Burnham was charged with creating something more significant in size and scope for the 1890 World’s Fair in Chicago. His directive to his fellow engineers was to “make no little plans.” However, creating something greater in size than the Eiffel Tower, which reached 1000 feet, was quite a challenge; no one seemed to have answers for creating something more significant, so Gustav Eiffel suggested making another tower a bit larger. 
   One of the project engineers, George Ferris Jr., of Pittsburgh, was struck with an idea and quickly sketched a sizable revolving wheel. Still, his concept was rebuked by Burnham, sighting the structure would be too fragile to carry people to the height of the Statue of 
Liberty. Ferris’s ideal idea was not wholly novel since 50-foot wooden rotating wheels had been in Asbury Park Atlantic City and Coney Island for several years. 
   While Ferris had been shot down by his boss, he still believed in his design and wanted to see it to fruition. He invested $25,000 in safety studies and employed additional engineers to work on the design. In 1893, the first Ferris wheel was erected initially as an answer to the Eiffel Tower. History tells us it measured 250 feet in diameter and had 36 cars capable of carrying up to 60 people. For the next 19 weeks, 1.4 million people rode the now famous Ferris wheel for just $0.50 a ride.
    While todays' Ferris Wheel is more than $.50 a ride, the jumbo wheel at the end of the Ocean City boardwalk offers incredible views of both the town and Assateague Island.
    To get more out of your Ocean City vacation, grab a Travel Chitt!