La Grande Roue. Place de la Concorde, Paris
Google reminded me that its George Ferris’s birthday today. He was an American engineer most famous for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition.
When the World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893 was being planned in Chicago, the 33-year old Ferris arrived hoping to help build a structure to outdo the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the Paris Exhibition of 1889. The Exhibition’s planners wanted something “original, daring and unique.” Inspired, Ferris sketched a huge, revolving “observation wheel” on some scrap paper that same night, in detail down to the ticket price. The next day, he presented his idea to the committee. They had heard of the smaller, wooden “pleasure wheels” that had begun to appear at various vacation spots about twenty-five years before; but, seeing the sheer size of Ferris’ wheel, the committee dismissed him as a crackpot. A few weeks later, Ferris returned to the committee. He had convinced several fellow engineers to endorse his structure as both buildable and safe; more importantly, he had found local investors to cover the $400,000 cost to construct. This time, Ferris’ plan was approved. STORY CONTINUES VIA Inventor of the Week.Fortunately Mr. Ferris was persistent, as where would we be without this uniquely beautiful and romantic observation wheel?
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
You too…have a sweet day!
Elisa
Happy Valentine’s day and what a great Ferris it has become.
Nothing like getting stranded at the top for a few swinging minutes!
Happy Valentine’s Day, Elisa!
Ferris lived a short life but made a great contribution that millions have enjoyed.
It’s true! Can you imagine never having experienced the stomach churning moments of stranded at the top?
While I was busy running around like a headless chicken (again!), my husband Googled the Ferris wheel too. No flowers, and I cooked the tea, but then, we have been living the high life lately. Hope yours is great, Elisa.
Sounds like a cozy day. I couldn’t think of anything nicer!
I didn’t know the story. Thanks for telling me. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope you had a good day, George. The Ferris story was interesting. I didn’t know that there was a serial killer on the loose in Chicago during the world’s fair. He used the distraction as a means to prey on women. Scary stuff!
I didn’t know about the serial killer either. I haven’t read directly about the world’s fair, but I have a medallion from it and I’ve seen lots of souvenirs from it. How creepy! eeek…
A very interesting introduction to your blog. Thanks!
Love the image, love ferris wheels, love Paris! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Me too, me too!! It’s an old image that I cropped the heck out of, but it worked for the story! I hope you had a wonderful day,
Elisa
thank you for this post.. i always thought that the term ferris came from the word ferry shaped like a wheel.. silly me.. now i know that the name ferris is the name of the inventor.. thanks for sharing and have a happy valentines day
An honest and understandable mistake! I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and hope you had a nice Valentine’s Day.
Actually, you might have been thinking of those big paddle boats that ride up and down the Mississippi River. They have a giant paddle wheel on the back that is very similar to the Ferris Wheel!
And because of him, kissing your high school sweetheart was never better than when riding in a great big, slow moving circle
Valentine’s Day couldn’t have ended with a sweeter thought!
I LOVE this photo Elisa ! It’s beautiful ! I had no idea about the story of George Ferris. I like to learn new things and stories