For the World’s Fair of 1893, Chicago planners desperately wanted something to compete with the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower had been standing for four years, having been completed for the Parisian World’s Fair. The city of Chicago entertained many submissions, but most of the submitted sketches looked like Eiffel Tower knock-offs and were not very innovative. Along came George Washington Ferris with his submission of a circular construction that moved and was taller than the recently installed Statue of Liberty. The committee originally turned him down as the entire “Ferris Wheel” contraption was deemed deadly and wildly impractical.
Ferris will get the green light on his innovation, but not before sinking thousands of his own dollars in to research. Read more about the saga of the Ferris Wheel’s approval, it’s huge $300,000 price tag, and unbelievable construction timeline in my next installment.
The Devil in the White City is not just about a serial killer at the 1893 World’s Fair, it has a lot of details about setting up the Fair itself, including the Ferris Wheel.
