PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Many people may not know that a popular fair and carnival ride was created right here in Pittsburgh.
I’m talking about the Ferris wheel, of course.
This year marks the 131st anniversary of the World's Columbian Exposition, which has many Pittsburgh connections.
“The organizers of the Chicago World's Fair knew that even in 1892, Pittsburgh was the city of innovation, invention and drive that it should be held here,” said Andy Massick, president and CEO of the Heinz History Center.
The Columbian Exposition, better known as the Chicago World's Fair, took place in 1893 and marked the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the “New World.”
Massik said this is an opportunity to show the world the skill and creativity of a generation.
“George Ferris, a 34-year-old Pittsburgh engineer, said, 'I can put the Eiffel Tower on a fulcrum and rotate it,'” Massik explains. “Everyone said, 'Can you really do that?' But he did it!”
Ferris built a 264-foot iron wheel that carried 36 rail cars, each capable of carrying 60 passengers.
Now we know that it has been a popular tourist attraction around the world for over 100 years.
“Each car on the wheel holds 60 people and we had a docent in each car because we didn't know how people would react to a wheel spinning 360 feet in the air,” Massik explained.
Another George from Pittsburgh, George Westinghouse, lit up the entire venue with 250,000 lights.
“The wheel was so popular that when the fair closed, people didn't want the wheel to close,” Massik said. “The wheel stayed up longer than the fair itself, but it was so popular that it was dismantled and moved to another part of the country.”
Following on from the Olympics, which allowed for a display of American pride, 1893 saw the city show its pride in Pittsburgh ingenuity.
