Ferris Fascination

November 9, 2009

Recently I was at a music festival in San Francisco. The festival was amazing with headlining acts like MGMT and the Flaming Lips bringing down the house. But, for some reason my fascination kept getting drawn to the Ferris wheel they had there. In between sets people flocked to this wheel of light, lining up in childhood anticipation of a vista filled whirl around the wheel. As I sat there watching this, I couldn’t help but wonder about where this lovely contraption came from.

What can I say … inquiring minds want to know.

The Ferris wheel was actually built to rival the Eiffel Tower, which was the centerpiece at the 1889 Paris Exposition. It debuted at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It was named after its creator George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. (whew that’s a name), who was rumored to have drawn the design for the wheel while out for dinner with friends and only made a few adjustments to the original drawing. Smart guy that Ferris. Sadly the original wheel is gone, but the iconic structure has lived on at fairs the world round and music festivals, apparently – always evoking a feeling of wonder from our younger years, something that I think is needed in this world.