Did you know that the Ferris wheel is a Pittsburgh original? When it debuted to the world | KD Sunday Spotlight
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Many people may not know that a favorite ride at any fair or carnival was created right here in Pittsburgh.
We're talking, of course, about the Ferris wheel.
It's the 131st anniversary of the World's Columbian Exposition and there are so many Pittsburgh ties.
"The organizers of the World's Fair in Chicago knew to come to Pittsburgh, it was the place of innovation, of invention, and the can-do spirit, even in 1892," said Andy Masich, President and CEO of the Heinz History Center.
The Columbian Exposition, better known as the Chicago World's Fair, was held in 1893 and it celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the "new world."
Masich said it was an opportunity to showcase the technology and creativity of a generation to the world.
"A Pittsburgh engineer named George Ferris, who was 34 years old, said 'I can take the Eiffel Tower, put it on a pivot, and rotate it,'" Masich explained. "People said, 'You can really do that?' And he did it!"
Ferris made a 264-foot wheel made of iron and put 36 railroad cars on it and each railroad car held 60 people.
Now, we know it has been a favorite attraction all over the world for more than 100 years.
"Each of the cars on the Ferris wheel could hold 60 people, there was a conductor on each car because they didn't know how people were going to react to rotating 360 feet up in the air," Masich explained.
Another George from Pittsburgh, George Westinghouse, illuminated the entire fairgrounds with 250,000 lights.
"The Ferris wheel was so popular, that when the fair closed, people didn't want the Ferris wheel to close," Masich said. "It stayed longer than the fair itself and then it was disassembled and moved to other places in the country because it was such a hit."
Coming off the heels of the Olympics where we got to show our American pride, we got to show our pride for Pittsburgh's ingenuity in 1893.