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Ferris‘ Wheel, What Happened Next?
For United States history buffs, the story of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 is particularly interesting because of the novelty of the Ferris Wheel in Chicago at that time. In addition, the best selling book, “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America“ by Erik Larson tells a fascinating story about events surrounding the creation of this trend setting World’s Fair. My article about Ferris Wheel at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition didn’t tell the story of what became of the wheel after the fair was over. Stephen Treffman, Hyde Park Historical Society Archivist researched the details of what happened next. It is interesting from the point of view of history and because of the social commentary involved regarding disposal of an object that was considered a technological marvel at the time it was built. When the fair was officially closed on November 1, 1893, the question arose as to where the Ferris Wheel would next be located. Initially, the wheel remained up on the Midway Plaisance in Chicago over that winter and, indeed, some thought was given to keeping it there permanently. Ambitious proposals were floated to transport the Wheel to a site in New York City's midtown Manhattan, it‘s beach at Coney Island or even to London, England. None of these came to fruition and in the early spring of 1894 it was carefully dismantled and its parts stored on flatcars on a siding off the Illinois Central tracks at 61st Street. Some of its original concrete base remained, however, and has been found in 2000 in the course of new park construction on the Midway. In 1895, the Wheel's inventor, George Ferris, found a new site for it on Chicago's North Side where it would be accompanied by a restaurant, beer garden, additional rides and a vaudeville theater. Ferris' partner in the plan was Charles T. Yerkes, the transit magnate who owned streetcar lines adjacent to the site. Resistance to the project arose from the community, however, and delayed, but did not preclude, its opening in the fall of that year. The community, nonetheless, was able to vote the area closed to the sale of liquor, which doomed the planned beer garden.
A panoramic view of the rebuilt Ferris Wheel dominated the landscape west of Lincoln Park. A reproduction of an admissions ticket for the ride confirms that, indeed, a vaudeville program had been introduced as part of the attraction. The address on the ticket, 1288 North Clark Street, is misleading on two counts in terms of where the Wheel was actually located. Around 1909 there was a street renaming and renumbering project undertaken by the city. It was during this time, for instance, that many of Hyde Park's streets obtained their modern names. In this case, the street number "1288 N. Clark" from the year 1895 translates to a location on the west side of the 2600 block of North Clark Street, near Wrightwood Avenue, by the year 1910. Indeed, the whole strip of land from what is now 2619 to 2665 N. Clark was to be devoted to the enterprise. A McDonald's restaurant and a large apartment building are now on that site. The ride, which some have jocularly claimed drew more complaints and lawsuits than patrons, experienced financial problems and passed into receivership in 1896, about the same time that Ferris himself died unexpectedly at age 37. It continued to run, however. The wheel went through yet another receivership in 1900 but remained in operation until 1903 when it was dismantled and transported to the site of what would be its last hurrah. When the Ferris Wheel was again reconstructed, it was on the grounds of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis) of 1904 and renamed the Observation Wheel. It did not achieve the same degree of celebrity there as it had had at the Chicago fair and was much less successful financially. When the fair closed, the Wheel was finally demolished by dynamite. Its boilers and engines were first removed, ultimately for industrial use in Pennsylvania and its 2700 tons of structural steel and iron and the plate glass windows and 2000 wire opera chairs in the passenger cars were sold as salvage. Read more about this story Ferris wheel followup
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Contributor's Note
The Hyde Park Historical society is a not for profit organization whose mission is to collect historical data about the Hyde Park community surrounding the University of Chicago.
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