The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago was in a bit of a panic. Paris had just finished the Eiffel Tower for their 1889 fair, and the Americans were feeling significantly outdone. It was a matter of national pride. They needed something "original, daring, and unique" to top the French. Most of the engineering pitches were, frankly, boring. Then came George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. He stood up at a luncheon of engineers and proposed a giant, vertical rotating wheel. People thought he was insane.
Critics called him a "crank." They said a structure that massive, holding thousands of people in the air, would simply collapse or blow over in the heavy Chicago winds. But Ferris wasn't just some dreamer with a sketchpad. He was a bridge builder. He understood steel. He understood tension. He basically bet his entire career and reputation on the idea that he could make a massive bicycle wheel for people to ride.
The Man Behind the Wheel
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. didn't just stumble into engineering. He was born in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1859, but his family eventually moved out West to Nevada. Growing up in the Carson Valley, he was fascinated by the wheels of the water mills. It’s kinda funny to think that the seeds for the world's most famous carnival ride were planted by a kid watching irrigation systems.
He went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1881. This wasn't some soft degree. He was a specialist in steel and iron. He founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that inspected and tested metals for railroads and bridges. He was the guy you called to make sure a bridge wouldn't fall down. When he looked at the Eiffel Tower, he didn't just see a monument; he saw a challenge.
The Chicago fair organizers were skeptical. They turned him down at first. They thought his "Great Wheel" was a safety hazard. Ferris didn't give up. He spent $25,000 of his own money on safety plans and specifications. Eventually, the directors gave in, mostly because they were desperate for a centerpiece that could compete with Paris. But there was a catch: he had to raise all the money himself.
Engineering a Monster
Building the first Ferris Wheel was an absolute nightmare of logistics. We’re talking about a wheel 250 feet in diameter. It was powered by two 1,000-horsepower steam engines. The axle alone weighed 45 tons—at the time, it was the largest hollow forging in the world. It was manufactured by the Bethlehem Iron Company. Getting that hunk of metal to Chicago was a feat of its own.
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The wheel used a tension-spoke design. Think of a bicycle wheel, but scaled up to a monstrous degree. Most people think of the Ferris Wheel as a rigid structure, but it’s the tension in the spokes that keeps it from collapsing.
What it Was Actually Like to Ride
This wasn't some dinky ride at a local county fair. It was massive.
- It had 36 cars.
- Each car was about the size of a bus.
- Every car held 60 people.
- At full capacity, there were 2,160 people in the air at once.
Imagine being in Chicago in 1893. You’ve never been higher than a few stories up in a building. Suddenly, you're 264 feet in the air. The views were staggering. People could see all the way to Michigan. It cost 50 cents, which was the same price as admission to the entire fair. People paid it gladly. It was a sensation. It saved the fair from financial ruin.
The Tragedy of Success
You’d think George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. would have ended up a multi-millionaire. Honestly, the opposite happened. While the wheel made about $750,000 during the fair—a fortune in those days—Ferris got bogged down in endless lawsuits. He claimed the fair organizers cheated him out of his share of the profits.
He spent the last years of his life fighting in court. His marriage fell apart. His health tanked. In 1896, only three years after his greatest triumph, he died of typhoid fever at the age of 37. He was bankrupt. Nobody even claimed his ashes for years. It’s a pretty grim ending for a man who brought so much joy to the world.
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The wheel itself had a rough time, too. It was dismantled and moved to North Clark Street in Chicago, but it never made as much money again. It was eventually sold and moved to St. Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair. In 1906, it was finally dynamited and sold for scrap. The "original" wheel is gone, but the concept is everywhere.
Why the Ferris Wheel Changed Everything
Before Ferris, amusement rides were mostly small-scale carousels or simple gravity slides. He proved that engineering could be used for pure spectacle on a massive scale. He utilized "the poetry of motion," as some critics called it.
The mechanical principles he used were groundbreaking.
- Use of massive-scale tension spokes.
- Implementation of redundant steam power systems.
- Over-engineering for wind resistance (it survived a derecho with 110 mph winds).
Every time you see the London Eye or the High Roller in Las Vegas, you’re looking at George’s legacy. He changed the skyline of every major city on earth.
Common Misconceptions About Ferris
People often think he "invented" the concept of a wheel you sit on. That's not really true. "Ups-and-downs" or wooden hand-cranked wheels existed in 17th-century Bulgaria and Turkey. But those were tiny. Ferris was the first to use structural steel and mechanical power to create something on a skyscraper level. He took a folk toy and turned it into an engineering marvel.
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Another myth is that the wheel was dangerous. Actually, it was one of the safest things at the fair. Despite the terrifying heights, the wheel didn't have a single major accident during its operation in Chicago. Ferris was obsessed with the quality of the steel. He knew if one spoke snapped, the whole thing could fail. He inspected every bolt.
How to Appreciate His Legacy Today
If you want to really understand the impact of George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., you can't just look at a photo. You have to look at the math. The way he balanced a 1,200-ton wheel on two towers was a masterclass in physics.
- Visit the site: You can still visit the Midway Plaisance in Chicago where the wheel once stood. There isn't much left, but the scale of the park gives you an idea of how big that fair really was.
- Study the blueprints: Many of the original engineering drawings are preserved in archives. They show a level of hand-drawn detail that puts modern CAD software to shame.
- Support engineering education: Ferris was a product of a rigorous technical education. Places like Rensselaer still celebrate him as one of their most famous alumni.
The story of George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. is a reminder that being a "crank" isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes, the person with the wildest idea is the only one who can see the future. He died broke and alone, but he left behind a silhouette that is recognized in every corner of the globe.
Actionable Takeaways for History and Engineering Buffs
For those interested in the technical history of the Gilded Age, there are several ways to engage with this legacy more deeply. You can research the Bethlehem Iron Company's role in early American steel production to understand why they were the only ones capable of forging the axle. Additionally, exploring the records of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition provides a look at the legal battles that eventually ruined Ferris financially. Understanding the tension-spoke design is also a great entry point into structural engineering basics, as it remains a fundamental principle in modern bridge and bicycle design.
Don't just look at the Ferris Wheel as a ride. Look at it as a bridge that happened to be circular and moved. That was the genius of Ferris. He didn't build a toy; he built a landmark that moved.