{"id":559,"date":"2014-02-14T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T06:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/?p=559"},"modified":"2014-02-12T15:42:03","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T15:42:03","slug":"let-the-spinning-wheel-spin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/let-the-spinning-wheel-spin\/","title":{"rendered":"Let the Spinning Wheel Spin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ferris<\/a>
Ferris wheel, 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is more romantic than riding\u00a0a Ferris wheel? Considering George W. G. Ferris, Jr. was born\u00a0on Valentine’s Day in 1859, perhaps nothing.\u00a0Ferris was an engineer who graduated from\u00a0Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) and founded the G.W.G. Ferris & Co. firm (Pittsburgh, PA) which tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridges. He is credited for creating the first large, steel amusement ride.<\/p>\n

But was the Ferris wheel the first of its kind?<\/p>\n

The 1893 World’s Fair was to\u00a0be held in Chicago, and\u00a0the fair’s organizers wanted to rival the Eiffel Tower which had been constructed for the\u00a0Paris World’s Fair\u00a0in 1889. Having recently ridden a\u00a0fifty-foot wooden “observation roundabout,” which had been built and soon would be\u00a0patented by William Somers, Farris was\u00a0inspired to enter\u00a0the competition with his paper-napkin drawing of an enormous park ride. The constructed 45-foot axle-wheel\u00a0powered by two 1,000 horsepower steam engines was supported by two 140-foot steel towers and it carried thirty-six wooden cars, each car holding 60 passengers, 264 feet high into the air.<\/p>\n

Because of its\u00a0size, people were reticent to ride Ferris’ wheel. For safety measures, the enclosed cars were fitted with heavy iron screens, locked doors and fire equipment. Also, conductors rode in each car to answer questions and to calm nerves. During the World’s Fair, more than 1,750,000 passengers rode\u00a0without incident.<\/p>\n

\"Circles<\/a>
Circles in the Sky: The Life and Times of George Ferris
Engineering Library TA140.F455 W45 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

REFERENCES<\/p>\n

Books<\/p>\n